Chapter Text
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Regina scowled at the cowering lady in front of her. The other woman has auburn hair that was tied up neatly in a bun and accessorized with a light blue hat that matched her uniform. She looked at the brunette and her entourage with fearful eyes and apologized for the umpteenth time.
“Miss Mills, I am extremely sorry. The Captain really could not wait for you. She has requested that I pass on this message.” Rather than relaying it verbally, the red-head handed a piece of paper to Regina with trembling hands. Snatching it from the poor girl, Regina’s frowned deepened as she read the message.
“Miss Mills, there is no way I am wasting the time of 300 other passengers on board this plane simply because you have no concept of punctuality. I apologise for any inconvenience caused (but really, you just cost the entire plane three minutes). I have no choice but to take off without you for the sake of all the other passengers on this plane.
– E. Swan”
“Tell this E. Swan that I would definitely be lodging a complaint against him!” Regina growled as she crushed the piece of paper in her hand and dumped it in her purse.
“H…her, Miss Mills,” the younger lady muttered.
“If you have something to say, I suggest you speak up, dear,” Regina barked, startling the airline employee.
“Miss Mills, Captain Swan is female. The ‘E’ stands for Emma,” the employee managed to squeak out.
Just as Regina was about to bark back a reply, a young boy no older than ten stepped forward from the group of people behind the brunette. He approached Regina and placed a hand on her arm, gently beckoning her to back down.
“Mom, there’s nothing we can do about it,” he coaxed. Regina looked at her son and her expression immediately softened. She nodded at him and then turned on her heels to leave.
“Miss Mills! What do we do now? Your photo shoot was scheduled for right after you land in Los Angeles!” Sidney cried out as he trailed after the brunette.
Regina stopped short and rolled her eyes. Turning to glare at the man, who nearly crashed into her, she sneered, “Book another flight and postpone the shoot, of course! If you continue to be this incompetent, Sidney, I might as well be my own manager.”
That shut Sidney up effectively as he immediately began to scroll through his contacts to call the people responsible for the photo shoot and arrange everything.
Meanwhile, Regina sat down on one of the chairs in the airport and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. The rest of her entourage collapsed on the nearby chairs and watched her warily. The ever-perceptive boy frowned and sat down next to his mother.
“Mom? I’m sorry,” he muttered as he hugged her from the side.
Regina melted into the hug and smiled softly at her son, “Don’t be sorry, Henry. It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask to be sick, sweetheart. It’s the pilot’s fault for not waiting an extra three minutes more. Perhaps it’s time I chartered private jets instead.”
Henry did not reply and Regina simply sat there and held him close whilst Sidney arranged their next flight.
+++++++++++++++++++
Emma Swan did her pre-flight preparations as she normally would, an hour before her flight. She was vaguely aware of the buzzing around her, but chose to ignore them. This usually occurred when there was juicy company gossip going around or when someone famous was about to take one of their flights. Whatever it was, she was sure that it did not concern her or she would have gotten the news already. Since it did not concern her, she did not care about it either.
Focusing on the flight plans, she made a mental note of the details she would have to test her First Officer on. After all, David was in line for a promotion and he would have to know his stuff to pass his command line check.
“Oh my gosh! Em! I mean, uh, Captain Swan! Have you heard the news?” A practically squealing air stewardess came rushing excitedly towards her.
Shaking her head at the brunette’s antics, she sighed, her eyes never leaving her flight plans. “What is it this time, Ruby? We are on the same flight today, right?”
“Yes! But you won’t believe who is coming on board!” At this point, Ruby was practically jumping with glee. Just then, David joined the two women, with his own set of the flight plans in hand.
“Good morning, Captain. Have you heard? Regina Mills is flying with us today; the Regina Mills,” David grinned, barely able to conceal his glee at beating Ruby to informing Emma of the news despite knowing that Emma usually did not care about such details. His statement earned him a glare from Ruby. He was nonchalant about the news but refused to pass on the chance at beating Ruby to relaying the juicy piece of gossip to Emma.
“Thanks, David. Thanks a lot.” Ruby practically pouted, earning a laugh from Emma.
“C’mon, what’s the big deal? Who is Regina Mills anyway? To me, she is just another passenger and it is our duty to provide all passengers with a safe and timely flight. David, summary of your flight plans?” Emma said, going straight to the point.
Both David and Ruby gaped at the blonde woman. They were surprised that she had no idea who Regina Mills was.
“What?” Emma asked defensively.
“You really have no idea who Regina Mills is?” David questioned.
“Are you serious?” Ruby added. The blank look on Emma’s face was enough of an answer for both of them.
“You’re serious!” Ruby accused, before proceeding to exclaim, “Regina Mills is a freaking hot and talented artiste! She doesn’t just sing, but she acts as well. She is amazing!”
Emma simply shrugged, “Like I mentioned before, just another passenger. Now David, quick run through?”
Ruby left after that, leaving Emma and David to settle their flight plans. Emma was pleased with the decisions David made regarding the route and fuel levels and thus, decided to follow his flight plans. The two of them then proceeded to complete their checks on the aircraft.
Emma took one glance at her watch and instructed David to do the take-off checklist. Both David and Ruby, who happened to be in the cockpit, looked at her in surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
“We can’t take off yet. Regina Mills hasn’t gotten on. We should probably wait for her,” Ruby said.
Emma looked at Ruby, clearly unimpressed by what she just said. Ruby gulped and quickly added, “Of course, you’re the pilot here. I’ll leave the two of you to your preparations and go check on the passengers.”
Before Ruby could flee the cockpit, Emma stopped her. Ruby gasped in surprise.
“As pilots, our responsibility is to bring all our passengers to their destinations safely and punctually. Both the pilots and crew members have to provide good service to all passengers, not just famous first-class passengers. Do you two understand this?”
Both Ruby and David nodded. Emma checked her watch and then scribbled something on a piece of paper before handing it over to Ruby.
“We just wasted three minutes which indicates that I have waited for Miss Mills for an extra three minutes and left cabin doors open for that extra three minutes. Please pass this note to the ground staff and inform them that it’s for our esteemed guest who failed to make it.”
Once Ruby left, David turned to Emma and said seriously, “I hope you don’t regret this decision, Emma. Regina Mills isn’t just famous, she has connections in high places as well.”
Emma simply shrugged. “At least I’m living up to my principles and have done my best here. You of all people should know the importance of taking off punctually. If I had spent more time waiting, we’d fail in that aspect. Now, take-off checklist please.”