A Picture Doesn't Lie

Emma stormed angrily into the kitchen talking to herself while slamming things around looking for the pop tarts. Well, it wasn't really talking to herself, more like yelling. "If he thinks he can do this kind of stuff to my sister and get away with it, he's got another thing coming. That sorry, no good, arrogant, piece of-"

"Emma!" Mary Margaret's shrill voice interrupted her from where she sat at the table. Her eyes were dry now, but still extremely red and swollen due to the fact that she had been up most of the night crying.

Emma startled at the sound of Mary's voice. She hadn't realized anyone was in here. One look at her sister was all it took to realize that Mary already knew the reason that Emma herself was ready to spit nails this morning. She immediately sat down and reached for Mary Margaret's hand.

"Oh Mare, I'm so sorry! Don't worry. He's not going to get away with this. I'm going to kick his-"

"Emma, stop." Mary Margaret reprimanded her again.

"What? He deserves it."

"He doesn't deserve it. It was just a big misunderstanding."

"Okay, maybe you haven't seen what I'm talking about." Emma pulled her phone out of her pocket, but Mary gently stopped her.

"I've seen it, and I don't care to look at it again. It's just the press misconstruing the situation for their own gain."

"Is that what he said? And you believe him?"

"He's my fiancé, of course I believe him."

Emma jumped up from her chair in frustration. "You can't be serious, Mary Margaret.

"Serious about what?" Their friend Ruby asked as she entered the kitchen and headed straight for the refrigerator. She poured herself a big glass of orange juice to help swallow the aspirin she had brought down from the upstairs medicine cabinet. She was hoping the combination would make quick work of the headache that was currently seething behind her temple.

"Rough night?" Emma asked, observing Ruby's actions.

"Fun night, rough morning." Ruby turned to Mary Margaret. "Where'd you go last night anyway? I thought we came to Florida and rented this beach house to have our final hurrah, celebrating your last summer of freedom before you marry the junior statesman. You just disappeared without a word. I had to catch a ride home from Graham."

"Which I'm sure was no real hardship on you since you spent the entire night flirting with him," Mary said with a knowing smile.

"Yes, except for the fact that his friend, the one that has a big crush on you, didn't have a date and so he was hanging around all night like a third wheel."

"That's your own fault. I told you when we saw them at the club that I was not going to awkwardly pretend to still have a thing for David just so you would have an excuse to hang out with Graham. Did you forget that I'm engaged to be married?"

Ruby crossed her arms and huffed at Mary Margaret. "I didn't ask you to do anything but have a drink with the guy. You know, for old times sake."

"I'm sorry, but that ship sailed a long time ago."

"Not according to Graham. He said that David has hardly looked at a girl since the two of them met while being stationed overseas together two years ago. He thinks it's because he's never gotten over you."

"Seriously Ruby, we went on a handful of dates over a three month period. That's barely even enough to count as an actual relationship."

"Wait," Emma interrupted. "David is here? The guy Mary was so gaga over? The one she called her Prince Charming? What is he doing here?"

"That's the one. He and his buddy are stationed here. How's that for a coincidence? Also, he couldn't stop staring at your sister all night, and did nothing but mope after she left."

"I think you should go for it Mare." Emma took a bite of her pop tart before continuing with her mouth still full, "Give Frank a taste of his own medicine, see how he likes it.

"Emma, please. I already told you that he explained everything to me. It wasn't his fault, and nothing happened."

"What are the two of you talking about," Ruby asked in confusion.

"Pictures of Frank with a half-dressed woman hanging on his arm were plastered all over social media last night."

Ruby quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket to search out the incriminating pictures. "OMG! Is this why you disappeared last night? That Jerk. Who is she?"

"It's not what it looks like. I've already talked to Frank, and he explained everything. It was completely innocent."

Ruby looked at her full of sympathy. "Honey, I don't know what he told you, but I don't see how this could be anything but what it looks like."

"Exactly," Emma agreed, her voice filled with scorn. "I mean look at the picture. Her shirt's hanging open. There is practically no space between their bodies, his arm is around her waist, and I'm pretty sure her tongue is in his mouth."

Mary was on the verge of tears again as she tried to explain to them what Victor said had happened. "His friends decided to throw him an impromptu bachelor party, and invited a bunch of girls to their hotel last night. He didn't even know about it until the girls showed up. He thought it was just supposed to be a guy's night. He recognized one of the girls who showed up. Apparently she is the daughter of a congressman. She was extremely intoxicated and he said that he just wanted to get her out of there before someone took complete advantage of her. He was trying to protect her. His arm is around her because she was so out of it that she couldn't even stand up on her own. He said he pushed her back as soon as she started kissing him, but it was too late. They had already snapped the picture. He just ignored it because he was trying not to cause a scene and make things worse. He just wanted to get her in the car and home as quickly as possible."

Emma rolled her eyes. "That sounds plausible…NOT! Come on Mary, you're smarter than this. This isn't even the first time."

"That's not fair. We were broken up the last time."

"Really? Because I remember sitting in your room with you while you were crying about him cheating on you. Apparently you were unaware the two of you were broken up."

"You're right Emma." Mary Margaret's voice rose in volume as exasperation at her sister flared. "I thought we were just fighting, but he took it differently. He thought I was breaking up with him. And you know Frank, he can't stand when his pride is hurt. He stupidly thought that by being with someone else, he could make himself believe that he didn't love me, that he didn't need me. That fact that he was so distraught at the thought that I might leave him, just proves how much he does love me."

"Is that what he told you? That he was with her because he loved you? Do you even realize how ridiculous that sounds? People who are in love don't go out and sleep with someone else when they have an argument, even if they have broken it off. They apologize. They beg for forgiveness. They stay and work it out."

Ruby sat there between the two of them, not sure what to do. The two sisters were extremely close, and rarely fought like this. But both were as stubborn as all get out, and it didn't look like either was willing to back down. They ignored all of Ruby's attempts to intervene and calm the situation.

"It was a mistake, Emma. For your information he did apologize. He did beg for my forgiveness, and I gave it. We did work it out, as you can tell by the fact that I'm still wearing this ring"

"And last night was another mistake? How many does he get?"

"Last night was a simple misunderstanding. It was him trying to do the right thing, and protect a girl who was in way over her head."

Emma scoffed as she brought her hand up between her eyes, trying to relieve the pressure forming at her frustration with her sister. She loved Mary Margaret, and wanted desperately to protect her from what she knew was going to be a bad marriage. Frank Steinman was an arrogant womanizer. He was most certainly not good enough for her big sister. She was suspicious that his only interest in Mary Margaret was that she was Leo Blanchard's daughter, and as such, she would make an excellent political wife. Her father was retired now, but as a former Governor of Maine, and even more so as a one-time Vice Presidential candidate, his name opened doors. Having his daughter as a wife would certainly serve to accelerate Frank's career. The fact that Mary Margaret was well-educated, intelligent, and beautiful was an added bonus. Emma was pretty sure that love was far down on the list of attributes that made Frank Steinman want to marry her sister.

Emma removed her hand from where it was pressed on her head and opened her eyes. She looked directly at her sister, her gaze full of concern and compassion. "Mary Margaret, is this really what you want? The kind of life that marriage to Frank will mean. Look at dad and Regina. This once positive and full of life man, has become cynical and tired. The same with Regina. Life in the public eye, and a husband who was rarely home, has turned her hard and bitter. They are a shadow of the people they use to be. I think even they can't see beyond the masks they put on to know what's real and what's not anymore. I don't want that for you."

Mary Margaret had had enough. She stood up and slammed her chair under the table. "No, you don't want it for you, and that's fine. But don't question my love for Frank, or his love for me, just because it doesn't fit your mold. You seem to think the only way a person can be happy is to be rebellious. Well, I'm sorry that I've disappointed you because I didn't follow in your footsteps. I didn't leave home, change my last name, and take up with a pirate like you."

"Killian is not a pirate! He's a ship's captain, and a darn good one. He had one run in with the law, and no one in this family can seem to forget it. It wasn't even his fault. He was just following orders. How was he supposed to know that the cargo they had loaded onto his ship was stolen? The courts found him not guilty, but apparently that doesn't count in the court of Leopold Blanchard."

Mary Margaret's heart wrenched at the look on Emma's face. She loved her sister. It was supposed to be the two of them against the world. That's what they had promised each other after their mother's death. Eva Blanchard had been the heart of their family. Their father had not known how to deal with her death, or single fatherhood. His response had been to withdraw into himself and his work. He spoiled his daughters. He gave them everything they could ever want. Everything but him. Mary Margaret was sure that it was because they reminded him so much of her that he couldn't bear it. She herself looked so much like her mother physically, that she was practically a carbon copy. But it was Emma who truly took after their mother. Emma had her spirit, her fire.

Their mother had taught them the most important thing in life was to spread good in the world. She said every interaction was an opportunity to bring joy to someone. Mary couldn't stop the tears from falling. She tried so hard, but she was sure that she was disappointing her mother's memory. Mary Margaret's way of doing what her mother had asked, was to try to make other people happy by doing what they wanted her to do. It had almost always been at the expense of what she actually wanted to do. She had been doing it for so long now, that she honestly didn't know what she truly wanted anymore.

Emma watched Mary Margaret waiting for a response. She had expected her to vehemently defend their father, like she usually did. Or possibly to storm from the room. The silence was unexpected. So she watched her, and she could tell. She could tell the exact moment that Mary Margaret began thinking of their Mother. She had seen that look many a night, as they had sat huddled together, telling each other stories, trying not to forget her. It was a look they shared. The look of a lost little girl, who desperately missed their mama.

Emma didn't do emotional well, she was more of an action kinda girl, but for her sister she was willing to try. "Mary Margaret," she whispered softly as she moved closer and took her hands. "Even if Killian was a pirate, I'd be with him. I'd be with him because he makes me happy. He truly loves me. He puts up with my stubbornness. He laughs at my sarcasm…even when I'm not trying to be funny. He's always there for me. He calls me to say good night and good morning every day when he's at sea, because he says the only thing he needs to have a good day is to hear my voice. He lets Dad call him a pirate, and doesn't even get angry, because he respects him as my father. In a room full of beautiful and brilliant women, his eyes never roam, because he says that I'm the most beautiful and brilliant.

Mary Margaret finally looked up and met Emma's gaze. "That's because you are."

"No I'm not. God knows I'm definitely not." Emma allowed herself a small chuckle, before turning serious again. "But to Killian, I am. That's the point. You deserve that kind of love Mary Margaret. Does Frank make you feel like that? Tell me that he does. Tell me that he makes you happy and I won't say another word."

Mary stood there, tears rolling down her pink cheeks. "Yes, he does," she finally managed croak out. Before anyone could respond to her declaration, a flash of light at the window garnered their attention.

"It's a photographer!" Ruby yelled, prompting Mary Margaret to run out of the room and upstairs, while Emma went through the back door and gave chase.

She returned a few minutes later, out of breath and cursing. "They got away. They had a boat waiting in the water near the beach."

"Do you think we should call the police?" Ruby asked.

Emma picked up her phone. "I guess it couldn't hurt, but I don't know what they can do. I'm sure that we'll see that picture everywhere within the hour."

"Yeah, with some awful headline about the former governor's daughter being distraught over her cheating fiancé."

"Calling the police is probably only going to make it worse." Emma put her phone down. "Where did Mary go?"

"She took off upstairs as soon as you headed out the door." Ruby paused before mentioning what she really wanted to talk about. "You know that she was lying when she said that Frank makes her happy, right?"

"Yes, but there's nothing I can do if she won't admit it."

"I wish I could see Frank's face when he sees the picture of Mary crying. Maybe he'll actually feel bad about it."

Suddenly Emma's face lit up with the beginning of an idea. "You know what Ruby, I don't think he'll feel bad at all. It'll probably just boost his ego to see her crying over him. But I think I know the kind of picture that will upset him, and I have a plan to pull it off, if you'll help me."

Emma place her arm over Ruby's shoulders, and the two of them huddled together. Whispering as between them the details of the plan began to come together.