What Is Happening

6

Regina walked out back, having just finished her shift. She unlocked her door and walked in, seeing her puppy asleep on the bed. Regina giggled a little as she walked over, gently stroking the fur to wake the animal. As she opened her eyes, she jumped up in excitement.

"Hey, Queenie. Who's my good girl" Regina said with a large smile, ruffling the puppy's face to hype her up more. The animal put his two paws up on her shoulders, licking her face a few times. "Uh, no licking"

"She's really cute" Emma said with a smile, startling both the brunette and her dog.

"You scared the shit out of me" Regina sighed in relief, standing up straight as she held her chest. Queenie ran over to Emma with a happy face and wagging tail, jumping up for her attention. "This is Queenie, my baby girl"

"Hi, cutie" Emma said with a giggle, crouching down to see the puppy  better.

"Come on, Queenie, we're going on a walk" Regina said, turning to grab the black leash.

The dog ran over in excitement, loving their walks. She sat in front of the brunette and waited, her ears sticking up to show she was eager. As Regina attached it, she glanced up to see the confused look on the blondes face.

"I recognize that" Emma said, raising an eyebrow at the leash.

"It's not the one you're thinking of, that one is leather and in my draw" Regina sighed, trying hard not to laugh at the blondes comment.

"Oh yes, I remember it well" Emma replied with a small smirk, thinking back to her time with the brunette.

"I should hope so. Come on, let's go" Regina said, unable to help the small smirk on her face. She started walking out the room with the dog pulling her along, Emma following behind. As they got out the bar, the pair moved side by side. "So, talk"

"I'm sorry-"

"Ugh, no, don't start there"

"Then where" Emma asked with a sigh, looking across at the already shielded brunette.

"I don't know, just not there" Regina sighed, tired of hearing the blonde apologize.

"Well, I know you have questions so ask and we can start there" Emma suggested, seeing the brunette shielding herself.

Regina just stayed quiet, thousands of questions filling her mind but which to say first was the real mystery. She just looked at her dog as she walked ahead, pulling to move faster. Emma waited patiently, knowing not to push the brunette. Regina finally glanced up, settling on a question she'd always wanted to ask.

"Why didn't you say goodbye" Regina softly asked, quickly moving her eyes down to the floor.

"Technically, I did but you were asleep" Emma awkwardly replied, trying to add a little humour to break the ice. Regina snapped her gaze to the blonde, instantly burning holes into her soul. "Sorry... I wanted to but, honestly, I knew I wouldn't be able to leave if I said goodbye"

"Then why did you leave" Regina cut in, looking in annoyance as her walking picked up.

"Because I watched as you almost died and that broke me" Emma admitted quickly, forcing it out before she could stop herself.

Regina just fell quiet, not sure what to say to that. She continued to walk a little longer until she got to the dog park, letting Queenie off the leash. She then sat on the bench, avoiding looking at Emma as she sat beside her; she just watched her puppy run around.

"You knew, didn't you? You knew about Reina and the baby" Regina asked in a calm voice, not daring to look at the blonde.

"Yes, the doctor told me and said we couldn't tell you, you weren't strong enough yet" Emma softly replied, already knowing this isn't going to go well.

"You should have told me, especially if you were planning on leaving. You shouldn't have made me sleep and left it to the one person I wished I'd never see again" Regina finally snapped, looking at the blonde with a harsh but hurt glare.

"I wasn't planning on leaving... You needed rest and I adviced you to sleep, I was planning on telling you when you awoke" Emma sighed in exhaustion, trying to prove she isn't the bad guy completely.

"You still left it to Laura, even after you knew what she done to me. I know Reina told you everything so why would you think to leave her to tell me all the horrible things that happened" Regina asked angrily, a little louder than she'd planned to.

"I wasn't thinking about that, isn't it obvious? I almost lost you because of the shit I'm in, I thought you were dead in my arms at one point. I'd rather give up seeing you every day if it meant I knew you were alive" Emma huffed her response, sitting up more to get her point across.

"You left me alone, I had no one left... And you stupidly thought that was going to keep me alive" Regina simply said, turning back to see her puppy.

Queenie came running over with a stick, gently dropping it onto her owners lap. Regina just gave a tiny smile as she ruffled the fur, taking the stick in the process. She threw it as far as she could, letting all her anger out with it. Emma was just looking at her I'm shock, trying to work out if she was thinking the right thing. Regina could feel the green eyes looking at her, just ignoring as best she could.

"What do you mean by that" Emma slowly asked, trying to look the brunette in the eyes. Regina just ignored her and watched the puppy, seeing her running over with the stick again. Regina took it and threw it across the field once again, turning away from the blonde. "Regina, look at me"

"No"

"I'm not asking" Emma quickly said, showing she was demanding. Regina finally snapped her head round, glaring into the blondes eyes. "What did you mean by that"

"Let's just say... If Rita hadn't found me the day she did, I'd have finished off Ryan's doing myself" Regina simply admitted, her glare fading away as her pain revealed. Emma's mouth just dropped in shock, even more guilt piling on top of her. Regina just stood up and looked over at Queenie, patting her lap. "Come on, girl, let's go"

"Gina, you can't-" Emma quickly said, standing up to stop the brunette.

"I didn't, did I? Everyone that comes into my life, leaves me. So, forgive me if I don't want to go through all of that with you again... I'd say I'm grateful that I know how this will end but I always knew you'd run"