Summons
She was in bed when she got it. The text message she’d been dreading for the last eleven years. Emma was hardly sleeping because her wolf was itching to get out when her phone buzzed. She sat up and grabbed it from the side table. Her world slowed as she read the message. Two simple words and yet she instantly felt dread.
Call home
As she read the message her wolf howled inside of her yearning for release. She silently growled and slipped out of bed. Careful not to wake her brunette companion. Emma carefully opened the bedroom door and looked over at her girlfriend. She hated lying to her, lying to everyone but she just wanted to forget about her past and live a normal life. Well, as normal as you can get as the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.
She silently crept downstairs and slipped out the back door. She mades her way to the town line making sure no one was around to see her. Which wasn’t very hard since it was 1 am. Emma carefully crosses the border through the woods and shifts into her wolf form.
She runs for a few hours, her wolf enjoying the release. She catches a deer and eats it. Emma loses track of time and ends up staying out later than she meant to. When she shifts back she realizes it was almost five, the time when Regina wakes every morning. She quickly makes her way back to 108 Mifflin Street. When she steps back into the house she glanced at the clock. 5:02.
Crap. Emma says to herself. She hears rustling from upstairs and quickly mades her way into the kitchen to start the coffee. A few moments later Regina comes downstairs and looks at her.
“What are you doing awake so early? And dressed?” Emma smiles at the woman.
“I couldn’t sleep. I decided to go for a walk.” She lies easily. Regina frowns.
“Nightmares again?” She asks with concern lacing her voice.
“It’s fine, I’m okay.” Emma shrugs.
Regina tilts her head like she was going to argue, but decides to drop it. She nods and went to pour herself a cup of coffee. Emma gives Regina a peck on the cheek and says,
“I’m going to go shower and get ready for work.” Regina nods in response. Emma makes her way upstairs to do just that.
Regina drinks her coffee and leans against the counter. She stays there for a few minutes when she hears a buzz from the counter. She goes over and realizes it's Emma’s phone. She knows she shouldn’t look but it could be the station. Regina sighs and looks at the phone. She frowns when she sees it’s from someone named ‘Jeremy’. Another two word message is portrayed on the phone.
It’s important.
Regina sets down her coffee and walks upstairs to ask Emma about this mysterious person named Jeremy. She walks in the room just as Emma is stepping out of the bathroom in only a towel. Regina averts her gaze so she doesn’t get distracted by her girlfriend’s body. She looks Emma in the eye and says,
“Who’s Jeremy?” In a slightly hard tone. She sees Emma visibly falter.
“What?” Is her girlfriend’s only response. Regina holds up Emma’s phone and repeats herself.
“Who’s Jeremy and why is he texting you at five am?” Emma reaches over and grabs her phone and reads the text message.
“You went through my phone?” Regina narrows her eyes at Emma.
“No, I didn’t go through your phone. It buzzed and it could have been the station because who else would be texting you at five in the morning.” Regina says trying not to get angry at Emma.
“Ever heard of privacy?” Emma retorts wincing at her own words. Regina narrows her eyes again and takes a small step towards Emma.
“You’re deflecting.” Regina grounds out. Emma huffs, turns around and puts her phone on the dresser.
“I am not deflecting.” Emma responds.
“Then answer the question.” Regina replies in an angry voice.
“It’s not a big deal, he’s just an old friend from before I had Henry.” Emma says lying through her teeth again. While she knows him from before she had Henry, Jeremy is most definitely not a friend.
“And why is he texting you at five am?” Emma shrugs,
“I don’t know. He told me to call him, I didn’t respond.” Regina softens at Emma’s obvious discomfort.
“Why not?” She asks in a soft tone.
“I knew him a long time ago, it was basically a different life. One I’d like to forget.” Regina nods,
“I understand. But he did say it was important. Maybe you should call him.” Emma winces at Regina’s words. If she knew the truth she would never tell Emma to call him. Regina nods towards the phone and says,
“You know you’re not going to stop thinking about it so you might as well call him and get it over with.” Emma nods knowing Regina is right. She’s not going to stop thinking about it, if Jeremy has reached out to her after eleven years it has to be important.
“I’ll give you some privacy.” Emma smiles at her girlfriend and gives her a deep kiss. As Regina walks out of the room and closes the door, Emma picks up her phone and opens it.
Her finger hovers over Jeremy’s name in her contacts. She sighs and says to herself. Come on, Emma. Just call him and get it over with. Just because you talk to him doesn’t mean you have to go home. Home. That’s not my home anymore, Storybrooke is. With Regina, Henry, and my parents. Emma sighs again and clicks the call button. She lifts the phone to her ear, it only rings once before the call is answered.
“Elena?” Emma’s heart stops not only at being called her old name but the man with the southern drawl that spoke it.
“Where’s Jeremy?” Emma spoke into the phone covering her voice because otherwise it would have trembled.
“What? No, hello Clay. How are you, Clay? Are you trying to hurt my feelings darlin’.” Emma winces at the nickname but rolls her eyes at Clay’s words. She starts to ask for Jeremy but stops at the commotion on the other end of the phone. After a few moments she hears Jeremy say,
“Hello, Elena.” Emma smiles slightly, she realized in that moment how much she actually missed Jeremy’s voice.
“Hi, Jeremy.” She hears a growl from the other end of the phone, knowing it’s from Clay she rolls her eyes again and hears another round of muffled voices. This time there’s a growl from Jeremy and Emma knows Clay was just sent away.
“How are you?” Jeremy asks after a moment.
“I’m fine, Jeremy. What’s going on?” Emma replies, getting straight to the point. Jeremy lets out a quiet huff and says,
“I’m calling everyone back home. There’s a mutt and you’re our best tracker.” Emma quickly replies,
“Stonehaven is not my home anymore Jeremy, it hasn’t been for eleven years.” Jeremy lets out another huff, lower this time.
“Stonehaven will always be your home whether or not you like it.”
“Clay is a perfectly fine tracker, let him do it.” Emma replies, ignoring Jeremy’s comment.
“You know that you are way better at tracking than Clay is and you know a lot more about the mutts than anyone else in the pack.”
“Don’t let Clay hear you say that.”
“Clay knows it.” Emma can practically hear Jeremy’s smile from the other end of the phone.
“Please, Elena. We need your help, I need your help.” Emma turns around and sits on the bed.
“I can’t just up and leave. I have responsibilities now.” Jeremy sighs and stays quiet.
“Fine.” Emma grounds out after a minute, “Give me two days, I have to get some stuff in order and I’ll be driving.”
“From Toronto?” Emma sighs,
“I’m… not in Toronto.” She says slowly.
“You’re not in Toronto anymore? Since when?” Jeremy replies in a slight growl. Emma pauses for a moment, knowing her next comment is going to make her alpha angry.
“I was never actually in Toronto.” There’s a loud growl from the other side of the phone.
“I let you leave Elena! I asked one thing of you, tell me where you are. That’s all! One thing! Not only did you lie to me about where you went but you’ve been in driving distance this whole time!” Emma winces at Jeremy’s tone.
“I’m sorry, Jeremy. I didn’t want Clay finding me.” Jeremy sighed.
“I didn’t tell him where you were. At least where I thought you were. I didn’t want to put you through that.” Emma smiles.
“I really am sorry Jeremy.”
“I know Elena, I know.”
“I actually go by Emma now. Emma Swan.” Jeremy pauses,
“Oh, oh okay. Emma.”
“I’ll see you soon Jer.” Emma hangs up the phone, she texts her parents and says that she needs to talk to them and she’ll will be over at nine.
After a few minutes of lying on the bed Emma makes her way downstairs. Regina looks up from the couch and smiles at her.
“How’d it go?” Regina asks Emma softly.
“Alright. I need to talk to you.” Regina instantly frowns, “Nothing bad, I promise.” The brunette nods. They head into Regina’s study to sit down.
Regina can see that Emma is visibly uncomfortable, so she sits down next to her and grabs her hand. Regina’s eyes are soft and she waits patiently for Emma to tell her what it is.
After a few minutes, Emma finally speaks up,
“Jeremy, the old friend who texted me, he needs my help. I have to go to New York.” Regina frowns at first but then nods seeing the serious expression on Emma’s face.
“Okay, I’ll pack a bag. When do we leave?” The blonde winces at her words,
“Um, just me. Jeremy doesn’t really like visitors.”
“You expect me to just let my girlfriend go off to New York by herself after a man she hasn’t talked to in over a decade tells her to?” Regina suffs shaking her head.
“I knew you wouldn’t like this but I have to go and I have to go alone. I’m sorry, but I promise that he’s just a friend and he got himself into a bit of trouble and apparently I’m the only one who can help him.” Emma replies honestly.
“You’re right, I don’t like this.” Regina goes to pull back her hand from Emma’s, to try and make herself feel less vulnerable. Emma doesn’t let her, she pulls her hand back into her lap and lifts Regina’s chin with her other hand. She gazes into her girlfriend’s eyes with a loving smile,
“Regina, I need you to trust me.” Regina takes a moment and then nods,
“I do trust you and I know you wouldn’t leave unless you have to. I’m just scared, when things get hard you run and I don’t want you to run from me.” Emma winces when Regina says the word run. She has no idea how much Emma has actually run away in her life.
“Regina,” She says again, “I promise you, I’m not running away from you. I love you and I want to be with you.” The brunette smiles up at her girlfriend.
“I love you too.” She takes her hands from Emma’s and puts them around the blonde's neck to pull her into a kiss. It starts off slow, Emma moves her hands to the brunette’s waist and pushes her shirt up a bit to touch her skin. She pushes Regina back onto the couch and lays on top of her, deeping their kiss. Regina sighs contently into her mouth.
“I love you.” Emma repeats again.
“I love you too.”