Happy Endings

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Well, basically, it's a Wooden Swan story served with some Emma/Regina girl talk… and an adorable Roland. There's some Outlaw Queen as well.

Yes, I ship Wooden Swan and I'm not ashamed of it.

Warnings for character death. But it's a happy story, don't worry.

"So… You've got a boyfriend," August asked Emma as he was lying on her parents' couch just a couple of hours after he'd been rescued from Gold's clutches.

"August…"

"I'm happy for you." Behind his fatigue, he looked sad but sincere, the shadow of a lost opportunity clouding his eyes. "You deserve to be happy."

Once upon a time Emma actually let herself believe that she could be happy with him. It was such a long time ago.

"I am happy," she said with a small, sad smile.

Emma was sitting on a bench in the park near the small lake, absentmindedly twirling a piece of paper between her fingers while her eyes stared into nothingness and a small smile was playing on her lips.

She was pulled out of her haze by a ball hitting her foot. When she looked down, startled, all she could see was a bob of dark hair.

"Sorry," a tooth-gapped grin greeted her when the boy straightened, holding his ball against his belly.

"That's all right, Roland," Emma smiled at the boy then turned her attention to Regina, who walked up to the couple. The two women exchanged a nod before Roland demanded their attention.

"What's that?" he inquired, signaling the paper in Emma's hand.

For a moment, Emma looked panicked and obviously it didn't escaped Regina's attention if her narrowed eyes were anything to go by, but then she held out the paper to the boy to look at.

"What's this?" he giggled not knowing what to do about the picture he was seeing. The gasp told Emma that Regina knew.

"It's a baby," Emma supplied, still surprised by the happy grin that appeared on her face.

"That's not a baby," Roland giggled.

"But it is," Emma pressed. "Look, there's a hand… with the fingers," she explained and watched as the boy's face lit up with recognition.

"Why's it so strange?"

"Because it's still in my tummy." The boy's surprised eyes snapped to her belly then turned to Regina.

"Gina! There's a baby in Emma's tummy. Do you have one, too? And how did it get there?"

"Slow down, buddy," Regina put a hand on the boy's head. "First of all, I don't have any baby in my tummy. And secondly, that's not the time to talk about that."

"But I want to know, pleeeease..."

"Well, what about you go find your father and ask him about that?" Regina offered and was surprised how fast Roland shot out to find his father, who was standing in queue for some ice-cream, all the while crying at the top of his lungs that Emma had a baby in her stomach and he wanted to know how it got there.

"I'm sorry," Regina actually winced sympathetically as she sat down next to Emma.

"Don't be," Emma waved away her concern. "I showed him the picture."

"And now the whole town will know that you're pregnant before he gets his ice-cream. Are you all right?" she asked after a little pause. Although peace was restored to Storybrooke… once again, with everybody safe and sound and the possibility of happy endings not depending on the whim of one single person but the people themselves, it wasn't a secret that Emma had paid a great price for the victory. "It can't be easy…" she indicated the photo in Emma's hand. "…alone."

Emma watched with a stony expression as the body slid into the waves. She could feel the bile rising in her throat and she held tighter onto the hand of her son.

How was all that fair? She wondered a little later as, slowly, the Jolly Roger made her way to the docks. All Killian wanted was his happy ending… all he wanted was her. But he ended up giving all that up so that her heart would remain pure.

Pure, my ass, Emma scoffed, looking at the approaching mainland. There was no such thing as a pure heart. She blamed all the fairy-tale shit that was happening in her life for actually believing the threat that she could turn a villain. Don't all people have the capacity to do evil? Don't all people have good in them?

They should have known better. Her parents should have known better. Her mother, after all, wasn't without blemish herself but it didn't make her a villain. And what about Regina… what about Killian? The people who believed in the good in them were hell-bent on preserving her pure heart, fearing that it could become completely dark.

Couldn't they see that her heart had been already tarnished? It had been long before it began to beat for a man that wasn't the one who'd claimed it as his.

"I am sorry, Emma." Her thoughts were interrupted by August walking up to her and stopping in a respectable distance. Emma tensed nonetheless. Their easy familiarity had been gone for weeks now.

"Yeah, me too," she said without looking at the man. It was easier to look at the familiar buildings of Storybrooke.

"He didn't go alone," August told her and Emma knew that he was talking out of experience. "For a man like him, it was the greatest gift." Was it for him, too? Emma wondered as she finally looked at the man.

I guess this is my happy ending after all… dying in your arms. Killian's words.

"He died a hero," Emma's voice cracked. Wasn't that the greatest gift for a villain?

August gave her a knowing smile that remained just as undecipherable as Killian's smile as he looked up at her through his closing lids. As if they'd shared a common knowledge.

She began to cry then. She cried because she was tired of losing the men she cared for… she cried because she was tired of losing August… and she cried because she'd betrayed Killian. She wanted to be his happy ending… she wanted to give him that.

"I'm such a horrible person," she said through her tears and let August pull her into his arms. "He died because of me… he died in vain. My heart's not worth saving."

"Hush. He loved you. He didn't die to save your heart. He died to save you."

"I'm not alone," Emma stated with a small smile.

"Of course not," Regina agreed with a grimace. "You have the two idiots. I'm sorry but their idea of raising a child leaves some room for improvement." Emma wanted to defend her parents but she'd still got some issues to work through with them. "Anyway, if they're talking too much nonsense, you know where to find me. I can give you some advice that's actually helpful."

"After all, you raised my kid."

"I didn't mean…" Regina looked sincerely taken aback.

"Oh, no," Emma's eyes widened when she realized how she must have sounded. "Sorry," she winced. "I know. There's just some stuff I'm still working through... Thanks for the offer."

Regina gave her an understanding nod then the two of them settled into a surprisingly companionable silence, watching as Robin and Roland got their ice-creams and made a quick work of devouring them. When the ice-cream was gone, Robin's eyes met Regina's but the woman gave him a small nod, indicating that they were good to continue playing, she'd be staying a little longer. When her eyes searched for Roland, the boy wasn't around his father, though. She let out a relived sigh when she realized that he'd just run off to greet August, who was walking some distance away. It didn't take long for the little boy to rope August into playing and soon he was kicking ball with the man and his father, having the time of his life.

"He's good with kids," Emma observed, breaking the silence. "He adores Henry, too," she added with a smile and Regina regarded her with narrowed eyes.

"You just sounded you're making a case for him."

"Just made an observation," Emma made a nonchalant shrug but Regina just kept regarding her suspiciously. "And Henry idolizes him," she blurted out shifting awkwardly in her seat.

There was a long pause before Regina spoke up.

"No way," she said finally, understanding downing on her. "It's August's, isn't it? You slept with the puppet… while dating the pirate?" At that Emma gave her a sharp look that made Regina shrug. "Not as if I'm judging," she added, feeling somewhat awkward herself.

"It's not as if we'd planned on it," Emma started defensively. "It just sort of… happened. There were so many things going on with my parents… with him coming back… with Killian declaring me his happy ending… I was just so…"

"Tired? Desperate for something real?" Regina finished for her. "I'm really not judging you, Emma."

"You've been there," it was Emma's turn to realize what had not been said.

"Been there, done that," Regina let out a mirthless chuckle. "But if there's something I've learnt from all that, it is that if you're willing to cross into that morally grey area for something… to abandon all that you're trying to live by… then you can know without a doubt that that something really matters. You have to live with the rest," she finished in a flat tone, drawing the conclusion. "Life sucks that way."

"I know," Emma nodded with conviction. "I've finally put everything into perspective. I know what I want," she smiled down at the picture in her hand.

"Have I just poured out my soul for you for nothing?" Regina sighed annoyed but she looked more bemused than angry.

"Oh no," Emma replied with a chuckle. "I'm really enjoying our girl talk… even if it's a little surreal." And just to make things even more surreal, they shared a smile.

Emma's eyes popped open when her foggy mind registered her surroundings and, as soon as her limbs cooperated, she practically jumped out of the strange bed. For long seconds, she stared at the man sleeping in the bed then, when it registered with her that she was naked, she scrambled for her clothes and hastily put them on, all the while pondering whether she should wake the man up or just leave.

"Emma," a groggy voice solved her dilemma and Emma turned to August with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. "You're leaving."

"I have to. Look… this was a mistake." Man, that sounded lame. August sat up in bed, fully awake.

"Why? Because you've got absolutely no feelings for me? Or because you've got a boyfriend?" The last part came out a little too mockingly for Emma's liking.

"Yes," she snapped in a desperate tone that bordered on angry and watched as August got up with a sigh and, after putting on his shorts, he walked up to her. She wanted to run and really didn't know why her legs weren't cooperating.

"Emma," he started in a low tone. "You can't deny that there is something special between us," August told her weakly as if like a plea but Emma couldn't let herself be swayed. Everything was such a mess at the moment and the only stable point in her life, besides her son, was Killian. "You must be feeling it, too."

So, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"How can I be sure that it's…" she gesticulated between the two of them. "Whatever this is was not the Author's doing. That lunatic's still at large… Whatever this was... It's not me."

"Do you honestly think that?" August asked rejectedly.

"I just cheated on my boyfriend!" Emma cried and an uneasy silence settled on the room.

There was nothing to say to that and both of them knew that.

"I have to go." And with that she was gone, willing herself to forget just how right it felt to be in the man's arms.

Six weeks later she found herself groaning on the bathroom floor, feeling utterly disgusting and she just wished that it'd been because she'd just puked her gut out. But unfortunately it wasn't so. It would take more than a rinse and a shower to feel human again.

"I just wish that Killian would be here to make things right… to explain it to him." After everything, that was her only regret. The only thing she was struggling to come to terms with.

"I'm pretty sure he had an idea," Regina remarked. "And I'm pretty sure he was grateful for every moment he could spend with you. He loved you."

"It doesn't really help me."

"Well, it should," Regina declared sharply. "He wouldn't want you to live in the past… he knew how miserable it can make people. And believe me, it does make you miserable. Leave the past in the past."

"Well, at the moment the best I can do is to try," Emma told her resolved. "Starting with apologizing to August. I might have told him that I only slept with him because the writer wrote it so," Emma winced.

"Ouch."

"Yeah," Emma agreed, whirling her hand in the air and watching a pen appear in it. She took it and scribbled something on the sonogram picture before standing up. "All right, let's face the music."

"At least you don't have to tell the news," Regina pointed out as they walked up to the men. Emma grimaced.

"Ladies," August greeted the women somewhat timidly.

"What were you lasses up to?" Robin asked, pulling Regina next to him, blissfully unaware of the tension between Emma and August.

"Nothing," Regina answered cryptically.

"Just having some girl talk," Emma supplied with a half-hearted smile.

"That sounded weird," August answered, still not entirely comfortable with that new side of the woman he'd always known only as the Evil Queen.

"What is a girl talk?" Robin inquired.

"I'll explain it… somewhere else," Regina smiled at the man, already nudging him to move. "I guess I'll see you later," she turned to Emma before finally leaving with her boyfriend to look for his little boy.

After being left alone, there was an awkward silence between the couple that was finally broken by August.

"So," he cleared his throat, obviously still thinking how to broach the subject on his mind. "I heard you ate a baby." He was so adorable as he said that that Emma couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips which, in turn, made August's lips turn upwards and soon the awkwardness was chased away.

"It's good to see you smile," August told her, sobering up. "Look, I know that probably I am the last person you want to see right now but if you need anything, I'm here and more than happy to help."

"I'm glad you say that."

"It don't have to be awkward, Emma," he continued, not showing any indication that he'd Emma. "I respect your decision and I'll keep my distance. Just let me be your friend… I know that it can be enough for me." This made Emma stop for a moment as Regina's words occurred to her. He was grateful for every moment he could spend with you. Maybe that was true. Maybe Killian would have been content to just have her as a friend. Yes, he would have respected her decision, too.

She was lucky to have such great men in her life.

"It wouldn't be enough for me," she answered at last and watched as August got ready for another round of nervous babbling.

"Look, Emma. I'm really so... What?" Finally her words caught up with him, it seemed, because he looked sincerely stumped.

"You said you'd respect my decision to stay with Killian," she started as an explanation. "But the thing is that I haven't made up my mind until recently… and I know that Killian is gone... but I choose you. I want to be with you because yes, I did feel that we're great together. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to admit it to myself… and that I was a complete bitch along the way."

"That's great," he didn't sound convinced. "But you don't have to rush anything Emma. You've got a baby to think about first…"

"That's the other thing… I wanted to show you something." With that, she took the picture from her pocket and gave it to August. "It's a sonogram picture from yesterday. I want you to have it."

August took it although hesitantly. Emma realized at that moment that she'd had completely confused the poor man. But she could see the exact moment when it all became clear for him – Baby Booth written on the photo was a dead give-away after all – because that smile could be seen from the other side of the pond, she was sure. The next moment she was swept up in his arms and she could hear the sincere joy in his laughter.

It felt liberating.

"I'm so happy, Emma," he started with a stupid grin when he finally let her go. His grin faltered, though, when something occurred to him. "Are you all right with this?" he asked concerned. "I mean with everything happening and you and me... and... I just..."

"August," Emma silenced him with a finger on his lips. When she got the man's attention, she gave him a smile. "I can' think of a time in my life when this wouldn't have freaked me out… except for now," she shared, reaching for his hand and entwining their finger. "I love Henry with everything I have… but this... this is the right time," she told him, cradling his hand against her chest. "I want this… with you. This is my happy ending and I really hope that this is yours, too, because it wouldn't work otherwise." She tried. She tried to be Killian's happy ending but it all fell apart.

"I love you, Emma," August told her, resting his head against hers. "And this is so much more than my happy ending. This is everything..."

Emma beamed up at him then leant her head against his shoulder, letting out a contented sigh. Regina was right – she really wanted this. Everything else would work out.

The End

Thanks for reading and sorry for the mistakes!