A Christmas Miracle
"No offense, Mary Margaret," Emma said skeptically, "but that sounds like a terrible idea." She walked quickly beside her mother, her head down and her gloved hands in her pockets. It was cold!
"Oh come on, Emma," Mary Margaret coaxed, "It'll be fun! And it is Christmas; families should be together."
"Yeah," Emma answered with a sidelong glance, "normal families should be together, but what we have…well we should be the poster family for 'dysfunctional'."
They continued walking through Storybrook's main street. Emma looked up into the sky. It looked like snow. Great, just what she needed!
"Now Emma," Mary Margaret said, "you know that's not really true. Look how well we've all worked together lately. First Neverland and then the new curse. I think we're all starting to meld together."
Emma sighed. "Let me get this straight. You want to have a party on Christmas Eve with the whole family…me, you and David, Henry, Neal, Regina, Gold and Belle?"
"Yeah!" Mary Margaret said looking eagerly into her daughter's face. "I've thought it all out! We'll rent out Granny's. We can decorate a tree and have a white elephant gift exchange and sing carols and just…you know…follow all the Christmas traditions!"
"There better be a lot of eggnog at that party," Emma muttered, "because we're gonna need it."
The two women turned the corner and headed toward Granny's. Emma sighed again. It had been a week since they had broken the curse and everyone had come home to Storybrook. A festive atmosphere pervaded the whole town. Christmas was only a few days away, and it seemed Storybrook's residence planned to celebrate with a vengeance this year. They had put up the largest Christmas tree Emma had ever seen in the town square. Everyone had contributed their own unique ornaments, and Regina and Mr. Gold had used their magic to deck the upper branches, too high for anyone to reach…even with a ladder.
Emma should be happier, she knew she should, but she couldn't help the feeling of dread that covered her like a blanket. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. She didn't trust the calm and the peace. Between the original curse, she and her mother being transported to the Enchanted Forest, Henry being taken to Neverland, and the new curse…well, it seemed that every time they had a chance to take a breath something else terrible happened.
"What on earth is that all about?" Mary Margaret asked laughing as she pointed a gloved finger toward Granny's. Emma peered in the direction her mother was pointing and couldn't help the laugh that burst forth from her. There stood Grumpy dressed in a Christmas elf costume, complete with hat and pointy boots. He sang "Jingle bells" at the top of his lungs while somehow simultaneously scowling with all his might.
"Grumpy," Mary Margaret said through her laughter, "what are you doing? I've never known you to be overflowing with Christmas spirit."
"Let me tell you sister," Grumpy said frowning in their direction, "if Happy ever offers to make a bet with you. Run. As fast as you can. In the opposite direction."
Emma laughed as she opened the door to Granny's and gestured Mary Margaret in. Mary Margaret headed to their favorite booth and Emma followed. She glanced quickly through the diner as she slid into her place opposite her mother. She refused to admit, even to herself, that she was looking for him, but she couldn't deny the wave of disappointment she felt when she found the diner completely lacking a certain leather-clad pirate. They had worked so closely together over the past few weeks, first in New York, then in the Enchanted Forest, and finally in Camelot. He had become such a normal part of her life that it felt weird if a day went by when she didn't see him. Surely that was the cause of her disappointment at not seeing him; surely there was nothing more.
But the fact was, she had wondered those last few days in Camelot whether…something…was starting to develop between them. He had been so, she didn't know, devoted to her. Sometimes she would look up and see him gazing at her…and his gaze was as tender as a caress.
He had as much as told her he loved her in Echo Cave on Neverland, but then they'd gotten back to Storybrook, and he'd been so distant. It was almost like he was pushing Neal on her. She just didn't get it. How was she supposed to figure him out? If she couldn't even figure him out, how the hell was she supposed to figure out how she felt about him?
"So," Emma said, idly picking up a menu from the rack near the window, "is David meeting us here?"
"Yeah," Mary Margaret said glancing at her own menu, "He said he's running a little late, but he should be here soon."
The radio blared "Santa Baby" as several more people rushed into the diner, each clearly in a hurry to get out of the cold winter wind.
"Emma," Mary Margaret said hesitantly, "you don't really mind, do you? I mean about the family Christmas party."
Emma dropped her eyes. "No, I guess not," she answered, "Just don't get your hopes up, ok? You get this group of people together, there's bound to be fireworks."
"Well," Mary Margaret said with a smile, "that'll just be more decoration for Christmas!"
"You are such an eternal optimist!" Emma said shaking her head. She couldn't stop the small smile that draped her lips.
"Eternal optimist," David said as he slid into the booth next to Mary Margaret and gave her a quick kiss, "you must be talking about my wife."
"The very one," Emma said unwrapping the straw Ruby had just brought with her iced tea.
"Henry not coming today?" David asked after giving Emma a hug.
"Nope," Emma answered, "he's with Neal today."
Her parents exchanged a quick concerned glance.
"How's everything going," David asked, "you know, between you and Neal?"
Emma looked down. She supposed she might as well tell them. They'd been subtly…and not so subtly pushing her toward Neal for the past week. Why did they insist she be with him?
"There is nothing between me and Neal," she said looking straight into her father's eyes. "We had a talk the day after we all got back. I'm sure there's a part of me that will always love him, but I've moved on. We're both different people now. We had our moment, and now it's gone."
"Are you sure, honey?" Mary Margaret asked, reaching over and taking Emma's hand. Emma smiled at her mother. After a lifetime of being on her own, it was nice to have someone care about her…worry about her happiness.
"Yeah, mom," Emma said. The joy on Mary Margaret's face at her use of that one little word was well worth it. "I'm sure. I've seen true love. I see how you and Dad are together, and, well, that's not how it was with me and Neal."
"But.." her mom tried again. Why was she so insistent?
"Mom," Emma cut in, "If we're going to have a Christmas party the day after tomorrow, we better start planning."
Mary Margaret looked up at her for another moment and then slowly nodded. They talked and laughed throughout their meal. It was wonderful to just have a nice normal dinner with her parents. No curses, no lost boys, now evil shadows, no life-or-death catastrophes, no imminent danger.
"So then Archie slipped on the icy sidewalk," David said, "he managed to stay upright, but he dropped his grocery bag, and it spilled all over the road. Before he had a chance to pick anything up Pongo shot past him, grabbed his deli meat and had a nice little feast!"
"Hm," Emma said sipping the last of her iced tea, "I guess I better get on city management to put down some salt on the sidewalks."
"Yeah," David said glancing out the window, "looks like it's starting to snow."
"Ugh!" Emma groaned following the direction her father was looking. "I hate snow."
"Oh, come now love," came a silky voice from her right. Emma's heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice, "surely not."
Emma looked up into Hook's blue eyes and smiled in spite of herself. She scooted to her left and patted the seat next to her. He smiled and took the seat she indicated.
"Yep," she answered him, "detest it. Snow means traffic accidents, icy sidewalks, and general headaches for the sheriff's department."
Hook turned toward her and smiled. His hook brushed her hand, and a jolt of electricity shot from the spot throughout her whole body. What was wrong with her? "No, lass," he said, "snow means snowmen and sleigh rides and snowball fights."
"I don't have time for any of that," Emma said, looking up at the handsome pirate.
"Perhaps you should make time, love," he said. Was it just her imagination or had he put a little emphasis on that last word?
David cleared his throat, and Emma started. Had she really just been looking deeply into Hook's eyes? In front of her parents? What was wrong with her? She needed to get a grip!
"Hook," David said with a nod in the pirate's direction.
"Charming," Hook answered with an identical nod of the head.
"At any rate," Hook said to the table at large picking up the conversation where it had left off, "with Christmas only a few days off, it is only right we should get some snow."
Emma glanced up at him and saw a small wistful expression on his face. Did he have anyone to spend Christmas with or would he have to spend a lonely day by himself? The thought hurt her somehow.
"Speaking of Christmas," Emma said before she could think better of it, "we're having a little family celebration the day after tomorrow. Would you like to come?"
Now where had that come from? Wasn't the party going to be awkward enough as it was without adding Hook to the mix? Did she really want him there? Yes, said the small, honest voice in her head. The fact was, it seemed he belonged with them. With me the voice insisted. She gave her head a tiny shake as if to clear it. What was wrong with her?
He smiled down at her, but shook his head. "I don't wish to impose on a family celebration."
"Oh come on," Emma cajoled smiling up at him, "after all you've done for us, both in getting Henry back and in helping to break the new curse, you practically are family"
"We really would be happy to have you," Mary Margaret said reaching out to pat Hook's arm.
His smile grew. "I wouldn't miss it for all the rum in the Caribbean."
Notes: Winter has arrived with a vengeance here in the Midwest, and it's put me in the Christmas spirit. So what better use could I make of my time than to write a fluffy little Captain Swan Christmas story? The story takes place sometime in the future. The new curse has been cast and subsequently broken, and everyone has made their way back to Storybrook. As far as how that all transpired, well, I plan to write a far longer story in the coming weeks about what happens with that.
-This little story has one more chapter coming up. It's the night of the family Christmas party. It is as awkward as you might expect a party with that collection of people to be. But…I know it's really cliché, but there might just be some mistletoe involved…