Please understand that this story idea is a building up of a plot and this doesn't follow the original OUAT story. Regina and Robin are married and Regina adopted Henry who is 10 years old in this story he is not Emma's son. Roland is Regina's son through her marriage with Robin. Emma is three years old in this story and there is and will be mentions of abuse in this story but won't be too graphic. Again please keep an open mind with this story as it is really different than all of my other stories. There will be tons of fluff and feels so I hope you enjoy. Thank you.
Emma whimpered and sucked her thumb in the corner of the dark room that they had called, "the basement." Anytime she had done something wrong her foster dad Mr. Allen would drag her to "the basement" and beat her and touch her in places that she didn't like to be touched. She had learned not to fight back or scream for it would be much worse for her so she just closed her eyes and imagined a home where fairies and princesses lived... a place far away... three year old Emma Swan dreamed of a home.
Tired and red puffy eyes closed as the blonde fell asleep clutching her baby blanket to her chest; she was too sore to move and so she rested her head on the dirt smudged cold concrete wall. She was fast asleep dreaming of mommies and daddies and even maybe a brother and sister that actually loved her. Sirens and shouting woke her up out of her slumber as she hid behind the few cardboard boxes that were next to her.
There wasn't much space to move as her wrists were chained up to the wall and if she made too much noise Mr. Allen would come barging down the steps and she would really get it. She whimpered and the little complexion that she had drained from her face as she saw the basement door creak open.
A bright light moved throughout the dark room as the light landed on the boxes she was hiding behind. Emma sucked in her breath as she felt the hot tears slide down her face as she heard the steps creak as someone made their way down the stairs; and they were headed straight towards her.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you." said a deep gentle voice that Emma had never heard before
The man gently moved the cardboard boxes and then turned and found the basement light switch and turned the light on. What he saw in the room made the strong sergeant want to throw up as he looked all around and saw a small cage with the name "Emma" written on it. A queen sized bed was in the corner of the room and the blankets were filthy and had obvious blood stains and probably other body fluids on it.
Sergeant Hood turned his attention back to the whimpering now crying little girl and crouched down and gently removed the chains from around her bony and bruised wrists.
"I'm Sergeant Hood but you can call me Robin; I am a police officer and I'm going to get you out of this place and no one will ever hurt you again." He said as he looked into watery hazel green eyes. His own eyes watered as he couldn't fathom why anyone would ever want to hurt a child. "Are you Emma?" He asked softly watching the girl nod her head as she clutched the dingy blanket.
Emma felt a mixture of emotions as she watched the man closely and although she was scared she knew that she could trust this man. "h-h-h-h-hurt Emma?" She asked as she pointed towards the cage and the stained bed tears falling down her bruised and dirty cheek.
Robin shook his head as his own tears fell down his face as he could no longer keep his emotions in check; he had a son named Roland that was a little older than Emma by the looks of a couple of months... and if anyone had hurt his boy.
Robin shook his head as he tried to think of anything but that.
"No, Emma. I won't let anyone ever hurt you again but you have to let me take you out of here. I promise I won't leave you. Do you trust me Emma?" He spoke gently as he looked straight into her eyes and offered her his strong calloused hands.
Emma searched his eyes and when she saw the clear tears fall down his cheeks and the emotions show in his nice strong features she knew that Sergeant Hood or rather Robin wasn't like . "Robin g-g-g-good." She said as she took his hand feeling his rough warm hand in hers. She stood on shaky legs but was unable to walk from the previous abuse her foster father had inflicted upon her early in the day.
Robin noticed the dried blood on the blonde's legs and swore that the man would pay for torturing this child; he gently scooped up Emma and felt how light she was. He was surprised when she wrapped her thin arms around his neck and he smiled suddenly feeling his heart begin to wrap around her little finger.
Regina picked up Henry from school and now was picking up Roland from Preschool; she looked at her watch and then checked her phone to see if her husband had called her. She figured she would go ahead and take the kids home and get dinner started; usually Friday evening they would meet somewhere and get something to eat.
"Something must have come up at work." she thought to herself as she saw Roland running down the sidewalk smiling from ear to ear.
"Mommy! I missed you." He said as he wrapped his small arms around the brunettes small frame. "Are we getting ice cream tonight? Where is daddy? What's for dinner?" He asked excitedly practically jumping up and down.
Regina smiled and took his small hand into her own and walked towards the car; knowing that someone in his class probably had a birthday and her son probably had eaten nothing but sugar and sweets. "No my dear I think you've had enough sugar. Daddy hasn't called yet but when we get home I'll call him. Tonight is Henry's day to pick dinner so you can ask him when we get to the car."
Roland smiled quite happy with that answer eve though they weren't making a stop to the ice cream parlor on their way home like every Friday. He climbed onto his Superman carseat and let his mommy buckle him in as he smiled at Henry, "Henry, what are we having for dinner tonight?"
Henry loved it when he got to choose dinner because he always picked the same thing. "Lasagna." He said with a big grin. He loved that his mom let him and Roland help make it in their large kitchen.
"Yay!" Roland squealed as he heard both Henry and the brunette laugh.
Robin took the blonde to the hospital and told the adoption agency that he was going to look after her and stay with her through the whole process. They tried to object but he argued and threw threats at them; "if you don't agree to let me stay with her then I will get a hold of some of my best investigators and I guarantee you that you will lose your job" He said angrily outside of hospital room watching closely through the window making sure that no harm came to the small child.
Mr. Grimly nodded his head as he looked down at his clipboard, "then you would have to become either her temporary foster father or her temporary guardian. If you are sure you want to look after such a troublesome child and burden yourself then you will have to sign these papers.
Robin looked at the man with disgust as he read over the papers searching and verifying what he was actually about to sign. He stopped momentarily as he thought about Regina and his family; He looked back into the hospital room and saw the small blonde haired girl with tears rolling down her cheeks as the nurse drew her blood.
"Let us get one thing clear Mr. Grimly. Emma Swan is not a burden she is a sweet innocent child and I will have you know that I will do everything in my power to lock people like you up. You sir are a troublesome burden." He spat out as he signed each and every page before shoving the clipboard back into the old man's hands.
Emma looked up and tried to wipe her tears away as she saw the man that had rescued her; she noticed that his hands were behind his back and she smiled when he pulled out a soft pink stuffed Elephant from behind his back.
"Emma, I have some good news to tell you. I hope that it will make you happy." He said as he handed the soft plush toy to her and smiled at her as she hugged the elephant tightly. Her face was still covered in dirt but she was still the most beautiful little girl he had ever laid eyes on.
"You dada?" She asked looking at him with hope shining in her eyes for the first time since he had found her chained up to the wall in a dark cold basement.
"For now you are going to stay with me and my family and then if Emma wants I will be your daddy. Do you want to come home with me?" He asked already knowing the answer as the small girl gave him half of a smile and nodded her head.
"Home. What home?" She asked in a confused voice.
He looked at her with warm eyes and patted her small bruised hand gently, "home is where the heart is. You know you are home when it becomes a place that you miss. Home is family." He said as he picked her up already having the release forms signed and the doctors signature.
They were going to have to have Doc take a look at her later and buy new clothes and toys and possibly change the room next to Roland's room into Emma's room. Thoughts of preparation filled his mind as he carried the now sleeping girl to his car and buckled her into Roland's extra carseat. It would have to do for now.
His cell phone vibrated in his pant pocket as he saw his beautiful wife's face appear on the screen as he slid the green call button across the screen. "Hello gorgeous, what's cooking?" He asked with a hint of giddiness in his voice.
The brunette chuckled as she raised her eyebrows suspiciously, "lasagna. What's going on; you're up to something?" She said in a curious tone.
"Ugh well either you're gonna be shocked or we are gonna fight when the kids go to sleep... Do you remember that case I've been working on?" He asked cautiously.
She stopped stirring the red meat sauce and turned off the fire and went outside and sat down in one of the patio lawn chairs and sighed not knowing where this conversation was heading. "yes, dear I remember. Now what is going on?"
"Well we got a crack in the case and we made a few arrests. We found the house where we assumed they were keeping drugs or bombs and although we found both those things we discovered something else. Regina, we found a little girl a little younger than Roland; she was chained up to the wall in the basement. I'll tell you more when we get home." He said as he sounded excited and sad and just a mixture of emotions.
Regina sighed into the phone feeling a sickening feeling at the thought of someone torturing a child in such inhumane ways. "Well did you lock up those worthless good for nothings? And where is the girl?" She asked feeling her anger boiling and a longing to hold the child and give some reassurance.
"Yes, well they are locked up and we are still working on the case. Please don't be mad at me... I know I should have asked first and discussed this with you, but we became her foster parent's temporarily and I told Emma that if she wanted we could be her parents for good. I know I'm getting too ahead of myself but..." He stopped as he started to cry a little hating that he sounded weak and sensitive.
"And that my dear is why I love you so much. Get home and I'll set out an extra plate for Emma. I've always loved that name; I can't wait to see her." She said excitedly into the phone.
Robin smiled to himself and wiped his face with his hands as he got into the car and glanced at his sleeping princess. He started the car and drove off towards home.
Regina opened the door and smiled at the sight of her husband carrying a tiny blonde haired little girl in his arms. Roland and Henry watched curiously from the kitchen as their dad gently laid the small girl onto the couch.
Robin hugged the brunette tightly before he kissed her passionately chuckling when he heard his boys.
"eeeeeeeeew!" Both Henry and Roland squealed as they covered their eyes.
Robin pulled away and hugged his two boys tightly before turning his attention back to the sleeping child before looking at his wife. "Why don't I help the boys finish cooking dinner and you help Emma take a bath and get dressed?" He suggested.
The brunette smiled warmly and gently woke up the blonde careful not to touch her too much. Worried green hazel eyes looked at her as a small whimper escaped the girl's pink chapped lips. "Emma, it's okay I won't hurt you. I'm Regina. I'm Robin's wife. I have some nice clothes for you; do you want to come with me and we can get you cleaned up." She asked gently offering her hand.
Emma searched the woman's warm hazelnut eyes and saw that she could trust the woman that was offering her nice clothes and a bath. What exactly a bath was; Emma wasn't really sure but she knew that she was safe and liked it here and she would do whatever they told her to do. She nodded her head and took Regina's hand feeling soft skin instead of the rough calloused hands of Robin's.
Regina walked into the extra bathroom and began to fill the bath tub with warm water and poured the sweet bubble gum bubble bath into the water causing the blonde to giggle as she stepped slightly closer to the tub.
"Emma, I promise I won't hurt you. I'm going to put you in the water and you get to play with some toys and I'm going to get you all cleaned up. okay?" She said softly as she helped Emma get out of her old dirty and stained clothes and lifting her up into her loving arms.
Emma having never really having a proper bath other than the many times Mr. Allen poured hot water on her when she did something wrong; knew that this bath was going to be fun and her new foster mom was really going to take care of her. Her small toes felt the warmth and the suds of the soap and she giggled as she was slowly placed into the water. A small rubber ducky floated next to her and she smiled when Regina squeezed it and it quaked.
"quack!" The blonde repeated as she looked up with wonder and amazement as she discovered all the other toys in the pink bubbles.
Regina smiled as a few happy tears fell down her cheeks. The truth was that two years ago she and Robin had become pregnant with a beautiful baby girl but in her sixth month she had a miscarriage and they had lost their daughter. Doctor's told her that she would never be able to conceive. They had so many plans to have children and the very bathroom they were in was supposed to belong to their daughter. The room right next door was still decorated like a nursery fit for a princess.
She cleared her mind as she wiped her eyes and began to wash the girl's blonde matted hair with apple berry shampoo lathering the blonde hair until suds of shampoo spilled onto Emma's shoulder causing the girl to laugh and splash the water.
"Are you having fun Emma?" She asked as she saw the happiness in the girl's face. Sure she was sad by all of the many scars and bruises and burns covering this beautiful child she wanted so desperately to call her own; but she had promised herself that she was going to make her home Emma's home as well; and it would be a place of love, fun, safety and lots more bubble baths.
Emma answered by laughing and making the pink rubber duck splash into the water getting not water on the floor but also on Regina who began to laugh with her. "Quack!" She squealed in delight as she took the duck and gave it a small kiss before placing it to the brunette's cheek. "mwah!" She said sweetly her little cheeks blushing.
Regina felt her heart warm at the sweet gesture as she bent down and placed a sweet kiss to Emma's temple. "Come on let's get you rinsed off so you can get dressed and we can go eat some yummy dinner." She wrapped Emma into a warm yellow towel that had a hoodie that looked like a duck and laughed when Emma kept making quaking sounds.
Emma smiled brightly as she carefully climbed down the stairs in her brand new pink footsie pajamas. Cute elephants with gray and aqua hearts were covering the pink pajamas and complimented her stuffed elephant that Robin had given to her at the hospital.
All eyes were on her as she padded into the kitchen with a very soaked but happy Regina behind her. Her stomach growled as Robin picked her up and hugged her.
"Someone must be hungry." He said as he kissed her forehead and placed her in the booster chair next to Roland and placed a plate of lasagna in front of her.
"You smell good. I'm Roland, after we eat daddy said that we can play before we have to go to bed." Roland said as he stuffed his mouth with lasagna.
"RoRo!" Emma said as she smiled at Roland and looked confusingly at the silver sticks he was using to feed himself; she had never seen them before.
She looked at her hands and then at the food and then back at the long silver utensils next to her sippy cup. She shook her head as she picked up some of the warm food with her hands and began to eat with her fingers; smiling at how good it tasted.
Robin looked at Emma slightly concerned that Emma didn't know how to use silverware and was eating with her hands but then it hit him; Emma must have never been taught how to use them. What did they feed her? Has she ever been outside? What exactly did they do to her? He shook his head as he reached over and gently took his fork and put some food onto it and brought it to Emma's lips.
Emma looked at Robin confused but then she opened her mouth and watched as he placed the food into her mouth.
"Emma, this is called a fork. Do you want to try and eat with it?" He asked as he put more of the lasagna onto it before handing it to her.
She nodded her head as she tried to wipe her hands on the napkin before taking the fork into her hand and with shaking hands brought it to her mouth.
Everyone at the table clapped their hands, "Yay! Good job Emma you did it!" They said as they all smiled at her small but big accomplishment.
They finished their meal and Henry Helped Emma wash her small hands in the kitchen sink but when the water got hot and burned her hand she started to cry and fall into flashbacks of being back in that basement.
"No! Me sorry!" She said as she inched away from the sink almost falling off of the stool she was standing on. Her whole body was shaking as she started to panic in Regina's arms.
Regina caught the girl before she could hit the floor and brought her to her chest and walked up the stairs taking the blonde to the "nursery" and sat in the rocking chair and began to rock back and forth humming softly.
"Shhhh baby girl. That mean man won't hurt you anymore. Henry didn't mean for the water to get hot it was an accident" She said as she started to feel Emma's breathing return back to normal with a few hiccups and sobs escaping her trembling lips.
Roland and Henry walked into the room, "daddy told us that a mean man hurt Emma. Is that true mommy?" They both asked as they both had tears in their eyes.
Regina looked over at her sons and felt her heart fill with warmth and love at seeing how broken they felt at someone hurting this little girl that they had barely met. "Unfortunately yes, my dear boys someone very mean hurt her; but we are going to show her what love is and true love is the most powerful thing." She said as she hugged the now sleeping blonde in her arms.
"We're gonna protect our sister Emma. Mommy, we won't let anything ever hurt her again." Roland and Henry both said as they placed a kiss on Emma's rosy cheeks.
Robin watched the beautiful scene from the doorway with tears rolling down his cheeks. Emma had only been with his family for a few hours and already she had become part of the family. He laughed when he heard Henry and Roland come up with an operation name.
"Let's call it Operation: Swan Princess. It's time we treat her like the princess that she is and give her the best home ever!" Henry said a little too loudly and then blushed when his brother told him to shush.
"That sounds like a perfect name boys. I think it''s time we let the princess get some sleep and her two knights in shining armor need to get some sleep as well." Robin said as he hugged his two boys and sent them to their room.
Regina stood up and carefully placed the sleeping petite blonde into the beautiful white wooden crib and laid Emma down onto the light pink crib sheets. She smiled when she watched how Emma curled up with her blanket and began to suck her thumb. "Sweet dreams my princess." She whispered as a few tears fell down her cheeks.
Robin wrapped his strong arms around his wife knowing that she was finally getting the healing that she needed after having the miscarriage two years ago. "I love you Regina." He said as he kissed his wife as she cried happy tears into his neck.
"I want to keep her Robin. I don't want anyone else to have her but us. She could be our baby and we could be her mommy and daddy." She said as she looked up hopeful into her husbands eyes tears falling down his normal strong features.
"And that is what we will do my queen. We will give Emma Swan a home where the heart is." He said as he looked down at his sleeping princess silently promising to rise up and become the kind of father she deserved.
Well here is my first chapter; let me know your thoughts so far. Pretty much I am just building the plot and there will be a lot of fluff but also heartbreaking scenes. It does take place in storybrooke and most characters from storybrooke will have their storybrooke names. As of right now there is no magic or curse but a curse did occur and later in the story you will find out how it all started and happened. Please be patient with me an just know that this story idea is original and different and all I ask is that you respect my ideas and if you don't have anything nice to say please don't review. I can take criticism but please be nice about it. Thank you all for reading and I will post the second chapter soon. Thank you again.