Of course it was Emma's idea to go hunt down a tree together as a family. Which meant she was going to be the one who got in trouble if they couldn't find one. Emma had always wanted a family to do Christmas things with like cutting down a tree. She wanted a real, old fashioned Christmas tree like the ones you see in holiday movies. The only trees in her childhood Christmases had been fake, small and pathetic, or fiber optic trees, all of them were horrendous. So she begged Regina to let them have this experience together instead of just buying one from the local tree stand in Storybrooke.
The day started off early and all three members of the Swan-Mills family dressed quickly into warm clothes. The family stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a quick breakfast. Emma knew the coffee was going to come in handy and Henry seemed pleased enough with his tree shaped doughnut and hot chocolate. Smiling to herself, Emma thought about how lucky she truly was. Things were easy with these two by her side. It had felt that way for a while, so simple yet so wonderful. When Emma was younger she wanted a bed she could some home to each night. She dreamed of having a family that would make her feel welcome. Regina and Henry had given her so much more. With them, she wasn't just welcome but she was taken care of.
She glanced at Regina, who was sitting in the passenger seat all bundled up, looking as regal as any woman possibly could in a fluffy winter hat and scarf. She hadn't applied any make-up to her face, yet Regina still looked stunning. Her cheeks were colored a rosy shade of pink and her dark eyelashes fluttered shut as she closed her eyes to blow on her coffee. Mesmerized, Emma felt her heartbeat quicken as she reached for Regina's hand slowly picking it up and bringing it to her lips. Emma didn't let go and they rested their hands on the middle console. Smiling, Regina sipped her black coffee as they hummed along to the holiday music on the radio.
The snow was gently falling in big, thick clumps of white on the windshield as Emma drove. A few minuets later the song changed to Henry's favorite Christmas song, The Grinch Song. Chuckling, Regina looked back to Henry who straightened up in his set. His eyes lit up as he got into character. Hearing Henry mimic the low voice on the radio, Emma laughed. She adjusted the rearview mirror so she could glance at Henry, who was now belting out the main chorus. This continued until they were almost on the road that led to the farm. As the song ended the family laughed and Emma spotted a wooden cut out of a tree.
"We must be heading the right way," Emma said as she pointed to the tree.
Finding the farm after that wasn't so hard. There were a few more signs leading the way down a dirt road to where a small log cabin came into view. Pulling into a spot Emma saw people were coming in and out of the cabin with their families. Two young boys were running around outside, yelling and throwing snowballs at each other. A flustered looking woman was yelling at them to settle down. Another family had brought their large dog along and it was barking at the two boys while a young girl with long blond hair struggled to keep its leash in her grasp.
Behind the cabin Emma saw a field of beautiful green Christmas trees. The problem was they appeared to be a little smaller than what the Swan-Mills family was looking for. Their house had a pretty large space reserved for the Christmas tree when they got home. Huge windows in the middle of the living room allowed the tree to be viewed from outsiders and the ceiling in that part of the house was an easy 15 feet.
"This place is awesome! We are going to find the best Christmas tree." Henry proclaimed to his mothers as he hopped out of the car, cocoa in hand.
"Yes we are," Regina smirked at Emma.
The three of them started walking over to the quaint little cabin. As Henry opened the door a warm rush of air welcomed the family in. The cabin smelt like evergreen trees and a log fire. It reminded her so much of their home around the holidays. Last year, for their first Christmas together, Regina had tried so hard to make everything extra special for Emma. The blond thought it would be hard to become apart of all of the traditions that Henry and Regina were able to share for 10 years but she was wrong. Her family welcomed Emma into all of their traditions with open arms. They decorated the tree together, they put up Christmas lights outside the house, and they set up a tiny winter village display in the living room. On Christmas Eve Emma was introduced to leaving cookies by the fire for Santa, she thought that was something that only happened on TV. Christmas Eve last year was spent by the fire, roasting marshmallows as Henry read The Grinch to his mothers. Regina even started a new tradition with Emma that required Henry to be fast asleep. In the cabin the smell of pine, burning fires and hot chocolate brought back a strong rush of emotions that was associated with Regina and the Christmas Eve tradition she was looking forward to this year.
In the cabin a small, round woman with silver hair who was standing behind the desk was passing out free hot cocoa, while an old man talked with families about chopping down trees properly, giving the adults saws they could use. Emma walked up to the old man while Henry sweet talked the old lady as she refilled his hot cocoa cup.
"Hello," Emma greeted the old man with a smile. "We are looking for a larger tree, probably around 8 feet tall. Do you guys have any of those here?"
"We have larger trees on the hill in the back of the horse stables. There are some larger ones way in the back, people don't usually want to walk all the way over there," he explained. "You're gonna want to take the trail in the back of this cabin but instead of turning towards the left heading to the smaller trees keep going straight. Go past the stables and then you should see what you are looking for. Also you are going to want a cart to haul your tree back here so my grandsons can wrap it up for you." The man grinned.
"Perfect! Thank you." She said, grabbing the saw.
Regina, who had been standing behind her for half of the conversation, didn't look extremely pleased about having to trudge up a hill to retrieve a tree. Especially because she had argued it would be so much simpler to get the tree in Storybrooke.
Emma knew Regina was only doing this to make her happy. She wanted to prove to Regina that this experience was going to be fun. She wanted to start some of her own traditions with the family. Even though Emma loved all of the things they did last year for Christmas, she wanted to contribute a new tradition they could start together. So Emma grabbed a cart and the small family started up the path behind the cabin.
"It's going to be worth it, I promise." Emma said.
"Even if it's not we can always get a tree somewhere else," Regina said.
Slouching, Emma looked down at the cart. Regina's face softened and she stopped Emma by hugging her from the back.
"Henry, how about you take the cart," Regina said wrapping her arms around Emma's waist. Letting go of the cart, Emma turned around to face her wife. Embracing the contact, Emma leaned her head into the crook of Regina's neck.
"I love you."
"I love you too," Emma grinned, pulling her closer.
They walked for what seemed like forever and Henry started to drag his feet and complain about the distance. Finally, after about 20 minuets of walking they reached the bottom of a hill that was covered in large Christmas trees.
The family started up the hill. They were about halfway up and the family still had not decided on a tree. Mostly it was Regina that couldn't decide on a tree. Henry gave his mom the cart and decided to put his headphones in lingering behind his bickering moms.
"Oh! How about this one?" Emma said.
"This tree looks mangled on one side," Regina huffed.
"Okay, fine. What about that one right there?" She pointed a few feet away to a gigantic tree.
"That's a really wide tree, Emma. If you can fit it through the door…"
"Fine," Emma marched to another tree, "This one?"
"Not this one, it's too skinny."
"Well you can't have everything Regina!" Emma yelled in frustration.
Regina smirked, "I already have you and Henry, my dear, and besides I can see one that is perfect."
The tree was at the very top of the hill they had been climbing up. It did look beautiful, Emma thought and of course it was at the very top. Regina trudged up the hill in her designer rain boots while Henry and Emma followed behind. When they finally arrived to the top the family stood staring at the tree.
"It's beautiful," Regina said, approaching the front of the tree.
"Okay, okay. It is a really nice looking tree," Emma said grabbing Henry and pulling him into a side hug.
Regina turned around to face her family, "Henry take your headphones out!"
"I like it," Henry said placing his ipod in his pocket.
"Good, so we all agree." Regina said looking smug.
Emma looked at her family gazing at the tree. This is exactly what I was hoping for, she thought.
"Alright! I'm chopping it down!" Emma said, whooping as she raised the saw above her head.
"Mom, you're not really chopping anything, we have a saw. Besides, I want to have a turn sawing down the tree!" Henry said, grabbing the saw out of Emma's hand.
Since Henry dove under the tree, Emma made a show of bending down in front of Regina. Emma watched as Regina's eyes darkened and she bit her lower lip. Grinning at the reaction she received, Emma finally got down to help her son.
The pair worked together to cut down the tree for a while. It was pretty hard work. The ground was damp and the space under the tree was a little crowded with her and Henry huddled beneath. But it smelled wonderful under the tree, like a mix of earth and that fantastic evergreen scent. It was worth the effort and Emma was proud she was able to share this moment with her son and her wife. After a while of heaving and pulling the saw across the base of the tree while Regina critiqued their methods of sawing, the tree came down in one final crack.
Emma and Henry loaded the tree into the cart and the family started heading back to the cabin. Excited about the prospect of going home, Henry raced down the hill as fast as the cart allowed while Regina and Emma walked down together.
"Henry, you be careful!" Regina said, watching her only son almost trip down the hill.
"He's fine," Emma said taking in her wife's worried expression. Regina's shoulders relaxed as Emma grabbed her hand.
"Why did you want us to do this so bad, Emma?" Regina asked.
"I don't know," Emma said as a blush began to creep up her neck. "I guess I always wanted to be like the kids in my school who would go cut down a tree with their family. It's in my favorite Christmas movie too."
"What one?"
"A Christmas Story." Regina gave Emma a questioning look.
"You know, the one I made you guys watch last year," Emma said as she sighed.
"Ah yes! The one we watched and re-watched and re-watched again," Regina said smirking. "I am glad that particular movie is only on once a year," she laughed.
"Anyways," Emma said, dragging out the word. "I just wanted to start some new traditions with you and Henry."
Regina face softened as she let go of Emma's hand and placed her hands instead around Emma's neck. "You are more than welcome to create new traditions with us," she said as she placed a kiss on Emma's forehead. Emma returned the favor as she quietly raised her hand, entwined her fingers in Regina's hair and pulled her into a kiss. Regina pulled back first and then quickly placed a kiss on Emma's cold nose. They smiled at each other and continued walking back.
Once all the members of the Swan-Mills family were back to the little log cabin two younger men standing outside of the cabin took the tree to get it ready to go. They shook the tree in a giant machine making sure no animals were hidden inside, and they wrapped it in plastic fish net. They brought it over to the car and tied it up while Emma went to pay for it inside.
Their adventure was coming to an end as the three of them climbed into the car.
"That wasn't so bad," Henry said.
"I thought it was fun," Regina grinned.
"Well that's because you didn't have to cut down the tree," Henry said playfully.
Emma looked over to Regina feeling like the luckiest person in the world. The Swan-Mills family sang Christmas songs together until they reached Storybrooke. Emma and Henry were once again in charge of moving the tree into the house. While the two of them worked Regina busied herself with preparing a filling early dinner for the three of them. She was almost done cooking the chicken when Henry yelled for her.
"Mom!" Henry yelled.
"Henry, what is it? You know I don't like when you yell to me in the … oh." Regina gazed at the tree. It was absolutely perfect. It stood in the middle of the living room and was decorated from top to bottom with colorful Christmas lights, garlands, and ornaments. "It's beautiful."
"We left the last part for you, Ma," Henry said as he handed her the angel for the top of the tree.
Emma helped Regina up the ladder and as soon as the angel was placed on top of the tree she pulled Regina down into a hug.
"I told you it would be worth it."
"You are always worth the effort my dear," Regina laughed as she placed a kiss on Emma's lips.