Chapter Text
Emma really didn’t think a little bit of snow would affect the flight back, but as it turns out, there isn’t just a little bit of snow, it’s a whole storm. Her next thought is that a delay won’t be so bad, so long as it isn’t overnight, but as that turns out, the whole flight back is cancelled until further notice.
On any other day, she wouldn’t mind waiting for another flight. She could always find something else to do in the city, something else to photograph, but this time she has somewhere to be. It’s not as if she can delay her own wedding.
She paces in the airport before sitting down and trying to work through her growing anxiety, trying to find the source of it all. She isn’t worried about missing the wedding so much as she is about her fiancé’s reaction to missing it, so when she chooses her first plan of action, letting someone know what’s happening on her end, she decides to call her mother instead of him.
The phone rings once, and that’s all it takes for Mary Margaret to answer, go figure. “Hey, Mom,” Emma says with caution, nervous for the woman’s response. She knows her mom. She’s going to tell Emma that it’s fine, that she’s fine, but the letdown in her voice will be undeniable.
“Oh my god, sweetie! I’m so happy to hear from you you! What time does your flight leave again? Are you excited? Nervous? It’s okay if you are! It’s--”
“Mom, please,” Emma says, trying to sound gentle, but it cuts off too harsh so she mutters a quick, “I’m sorry” before breaking the news. “Uh, so the flight was cancelled.”
There’s a long, stagnant pause where Mary Margaret says nothing, and neither does Emma because she doesn’t want to feed her mother too much information up front so long as there isn’t a definite solution. If she remained vague enough, it would give her mom the right idea. That the situation isn’t settled, but it also isn’t impossible .
“Oh,” the woman says in surprise. “Well…” and Emma can almost hear the worry in her voice as she tries to fix the problem herself, thousands of miles away.
“It’s fine, Mom. I’m gonna make it, okay?” Emma gives a nervous laugh. “I mean, who misses their own wedding.”
The mention of the wedding seems to dissipate Mary Margaret’s worries immediately. “Of course you’re going to make it. You always accomplish anything you set your mind to. I know you know that, but I needed to let you know how inspired I am by you.”
“Thanks, mom. So, uh, is Killian there?”
“He is! Do you want to speak with him?”
Emma hesitates. She should , she knows she should, but there was a reason she called her mother instead of him to begin with. Both she and Killian are stubborn, unwilling to accept failure. She could figure this out on her own. She would figure this out on her own. He would hear about the situation from Snow, unable to fix it himself, and he would be impressed tomorrow when Emma still showed up in time for their wedding. Besides, she didn’t want any comments from him about how she shouldn’t have left to begin with.
“No, that’s okay. I’ll talk to him when I get there.”
“Alright, sweetie. Keep me updated alright? I love you.”
“I love you too,” Emma replies before hanging up with a loud sigh. She juggles her phone in one hand, wondering if she really should just make the call. It’s just what you do before a flight, right?
She goes to his contact, about to hit the little green button before someone’s voice catches her attention. A woman at a nearby desk, insisting that she has to make the flight, needing to make it back to Maine by tomorrow, same as Emma.
In seconds, the blonde has her phone back by her side, call forgotten, as she makes her way over to the woman, who groans in frustration before walking away, pacing in place as she runs a hand through her short dark hair.
“Hey,” Emma starts.
“Hey?” she responds glancing up at Emma briefly before her eyes land back on her phone, looking at it as if it’s going to provide her with some kind of miracle solution.
“You need to get to Maine by tomorrow?” The woman’s eyebrows raise, her full attention going to Emma. “I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear.” The woman looks even more incredulous. “...on purpose. Look, I need to be in Maine by tomorrow too.”
“So? Unless there’s some kind of miracle, it looks like we aren’t going anywhere.”
The woman turns away from Emma then, and there’s not any reason Emma should help her, but she decides to anyways. Something about her draws Emma in. She tells herself it’s normal. “I can help you,” she blurts out.
The woman turns back around. “How can you help?”
“I’ve got a guy.”
The guy is named Neal. Regina learns his name before learning Emma’s, and Emma doesn’t even learn her name until they’re walking to wherever the blonde’s mystery plan is going to pan out.
“So, Neal’s a pilot,” Emma says. “We go waayyy back.”
“Boyfriend?” Regina dares to ask, but her eyes catch a glimpse of something shiny on Emma’s left hand. “Husband?” she corrects.
Emma laughs like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. “ As if . He’s like a brother to me. We had the same foster family when we were kids.”
“Oh.” Regina’s about to ask about the person who is the husband, but Emma’s already talking before she can bother.
“So what about you? What’s your story?”
“Not much to tell really.” Emma glances over her without breaking stride, her lips turning up just slightly like she knows that isn’t true. “I’m a doctor. Heart surgeon, specifically.”
Emma nods. “Is that what brought you out here? Or what’s taking you to Maine?”
“Maine is my home,” she explains, letting the subject drop.
The two of them end up in a small building with an even smaller plane. A dog sleeps on the ground but jumps up as soon as he sees Emma, running to her with an excited wag of his tail, tongue hanging out before slobbering on the blonde’s hand.
“Bug!” she shouts. “Hey boy, I see you’ve remembered me!” She crouches so that Bug can lick her face, and Regina pulls back when the dog turns to run to her. He jumps up, his paws landing against Regina’s stomach, knocking her back.
“Bug, hey,” a man calls out. Regina looks up in time to see a scruffy man half walking, half jogging to them.”Don’t terrorize the lady,... and Emma”, he adds with a laugh.
“Shut up, Neal. This is Regina. She’s in the same situation as me so I thought I could help her out. Regina, this is Neal, my pseudo pilot brother. I mean, he’s kind of my brother, but he’s definitely a pilot. And this little guy is Bug,” she says scratching behind the dog’s ears.
“I’m not sure about little ,” Regina comments. “Where’d the name come from?”
“That was all Emma’s doing. I just went with it.”
“I’m sure,” Regina comments, eyeing the two suspiciously. The room falls into a silence that Regina thinks is awkward, but no one else seems fazed by.
“Okay, well,” Neal says, “I’m gonna get everything ready. We’ll load up in a little bit, okay?” He gives a small wave as he jogs over to the plane.
After another small moment of silence, Regina turns to Emma. “So, was Bug your dog? In the past?”
Emma laughs, “No, he’s always been Neal’s. But we were roommates when Bug was a puppy. There was a shelter that had too many dogs, and they were going to put them down, so we decided to rescue one. Bug had been adopted once but sent back because he was too rowdy, so he was the clear choice. I guess he was ours for a month or so, but when I had to move, I couldn’t take him.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Seven years? Eight?” Emma laughs. “It’s crazy to think about that. So much has changed.”
Before Regina can comment further, Neal is waving them over, and Emma grins at her before they make their way to the plane, Bug on their heels. “Ready?” Neal asks.
Emma’s already on the plane before Regina gets a chance to wonder, “You filed a flight plan, I assume?”
Neal shakes his head, an unconcerned look on his face. “It should be fine. We won’t be in anyone’s way, and my plane just passed inspection last week, so it’s in its best shape.” At Regina’s wary expression, he hands her his pilot’s license and adds, “I do this all the time. I wouldn’t now if I wasn’t sure we’d be okay.”
She examines the license and glances back up at him, the sincerity in his eyes anything but untrustworthy. “Okay. What about the storm?”
“Off our course. You’re in good hands, Regina. I promise.”
She hesitates for a moment, which understandable, she only just met these people and she's about to out her life in one of their hands. But it's not much different than any other flight with any other pilot, and no different than the trust her patients put on her when she performs surgery.
With reason in mind, she climbs on the plane.
The inside of the plane is small, but not small enough that Emma ends up squished next to Regina, which is kind of too bad, but it’s likely for the best considering the glare she gets when her shoe brushes against Regina’s leg.
“Sorry,” she mumbles, but Regina only looks out the window at the passing view. Neal isn’t saying much, all his attention on the flight, and Emma only has so much phone battery, so she isn’t eager to use it all just to pass the time.
She eyes Regina carefully, waiting to see if she’ll turn back around, but when she doesn’t, Emma decides just to start up a conversation herself. “So,” she starts, watching as dark eyes turn back around to meet hers. It’s under Regina’s gaze that she realizes she isn’t sure what to say. She glances at Regina’s hands long enough to notice she doesn’t have a ring, so asking about family isn’t a good go-to. She already knows about her job so she doesn’t need to ask about that. But she ends up blurting “You’re a heart surgeon?” anyway.
Regina smirks. “Yes.” Emma doesn’t think she’s going to add anything to the conversation, but then-- “What about you?”
“I work at a gym, as a trainer. But I also do freelance photography.”
“Is that what brought you all the way out here?”
Emma nods, “Did you see the eclipse? That’s what I was photographing.”
“Ah, no. I was in surgery so, unfortunately, I didn't see it.” Emma's eyes light up, a grin spreading on her face. She's pulling her most recent prints from her bag before Regina even has a chance to ask.
The blonde unbuckles her seat belt and shifts across the plane so that she's in the seat facing Regina, leaning forward and holding the photographs out so that they’re facing the other woman. “Now you can! Well, kind of. It’s not the same, but…”
“It’s beautiful,” Regina says, offering a smile to the blonde. “You’re very talented.”
Emma beams, “Thanks. I’m sure you are too, but, well… hopefully I won’t have to find out the hard way. I think my heart’s pretty healthy.”
“I’m sure it is,” Regina says, turning to her phone. Emma leans back in her seat, only moderately bummed that the conversation has come to an end once again.
“Hey, Emma, you should probably buckle back up. We’re about to pass by the storm. It’s still a few miles over, but it could still get a little bumpy.”
“Yeah, okay,” she says, shifting back to her original seat. She takes a few pictures before tucking her camera away. She stares out the window, bored until Bug jumps up from his resting position close to Neal and walking to her, his tail wagging and tongue hanging out. “Hey, boy!” Emma says, her voice going high pitched to appease Bug’s excitement. “Do you like flying? Does Neal give you special treats for being so good?” She catches Regina side eying her so she stares back. “What…? You’re a cat person aren’t you?”
For a moment Regina looks almost offended before she says, “I don’t have any pets. But if I had one it would be a dog.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes,” Regina says, a faint smile on her face before turning back to her phone.
Emma regards her for a moment, debating on if she wants to say anything else or just give the woman her peace. She decides to do the latter, but when she leans over to see what Regina’s reading and the woman sighs loudly, it’s clear that it made no difference. “Sorry,” she shrugs, not sounding sorry at all. “I noticed you were reading and just got curious.”
“Curious as to what I was reading or how I was doing it?” she says with a dry laugh.
Emma puts her hands up, “Okay, I won’t be so nosy. There’s no need to snap at me.” Regina breathes out from her nose, turning her head away from Emma, tucking her phone away in her jacket pocket. “And I know how to read. For your information.” Emma says before she turns away too.
The plane jerks a little, and Regina grips the arm rest next to her. Emma sighs and tries to focus on the window outside. She snaps a few pictures before they have to pass the storm, but puts her camera away when she sees dark clouds looming in the distance. She glances out the front before checking out Regina’s window and sees the same.
“Hey, Neal? It kind of looks like we’re heading right for the storm, rather than around it. You know I trust you, but… what’s up with that?” Regina looks between them, her expression neutral albeit a little wary.
“The storm moved quicker than I thought it would. We still can make it around as long as it keeps moving how it is. Looks like it’s headed southbound,” he says, veering the plane left. Emma nods. Bug whines a little in front of her.
“It’s okay, boy,” she says as she gives him a comforting pet on the head, her other hand gripping his collar just in case. Next to her, Regina’s eyes are sealed shut. “Are you scared of flying?”
“No,” the brunette answers, her voice wrought with tension.
“You sound scared.”
“I’m not .”
“Well, you sound like it.”
“I’m not scared,” Regina repeats before adding. “You’re infuriating.”
“Just trying to lighten the mood. Or distract you. Is it working?” Regina snorts. “Okay well, let me know if you have any better ideas. Otherwise, I’m just gonna--”
“Shit,” Neal suddenly mutters in interruption.
“What is it?”
“The storm. It slowed, which means we won’t make it around.”
“We can’t go above it?”
Neal shakes his head, “This is as high up as we can go. I might be able to get us through a weaker part, but it won’t be easy.”
Emma shifts in her seat and tries not to let on how nervous she is at this whole situation. “I believe in you, Neal,” she says with as much confidence as she can. The plane jerks more, the turbulence rocking the plane abruptly. Bug wines and sticks his head down between Emma’s knees. She scratches behind his ears but can’t seem to shake the bad feeling this situation is leaving her with.
Regina is stiff next to her, her hands tight on the seat as her face remains a picture of stoicism. Her breaths are slow, and Emma reaches for her hand, hoping it will help calm the woman’s nerves and that she won’t get snapped at again. Regina spares a tight smile for her just before the plane jolts again even harder.
In the cockpit, Neal is frantic as he tries to maintain the plane’s balance, but even over the engine and the wind howling past outside, Emma can hear Neal cursing between attempts to call for help over the radio.
It’s within minutes that everything goes downhill, the plane starting a nosedive towards the ground. Emma grips Bug’s collar tighter, repositioning him as best she can so he doesn’t get hurt, but she doesn’t let out a breath of relief when the plane levels back out and she doesn’t let go of Regina’s hand.
The plane dips again, shaking, and Emma can’t pinpoint the exact moment Neal loses control, but he’s suddenly shouting back at them over the noise of the chaos, instructing them on safe positions to be holding when the plane hits the ground, and Emma doesn’t want to dwell on it, but once he says when instead of if , she can’t think of anything else.
She feels Regina’s hand gripping hers and Bug trying to wiggle free to get to Regina’s side of the plane. Emma isn’t going to let him go anywhere, but when they hit another rough patch and she loses her grip on his collar, he slips away.
She screams when she feels the plane tipping to one side and then the other, and then again when she hears part of the plane rearing itself off from the whole thing, and she knows now that this isn’t a question of if or when , but life and death, and all she can think about now is if Bug is going to be okay or get sucked from the plane and how Regina’s hold on her is so strong that she isn’t worried about losing her, even if she could lose anything.
Everything .
She could lose everything.