Chapter one

Snow skilfully manoeuvred the pram to the front door of her apartment and took the opportunity to yawn.

Halfway through a lesson, she had gotten a call from the day care that Neal had a fever, so naturally she had rushed over to get him, not even thinking about the fact that there were plenty of other people she could have asked.

Opening the door, she heard the distinctive sound of her daughter's voice and soon gathered that she was on the phone, so as difficult as it was, she managed to enter the apartment as quietly as possible.

Deciding to leave the pram outside for the moment, she picked up Neal and the nappy bag and was halfway across to the kitchen when some of the blonde's words began to register.

"I know it's been a while…how many times do I have to say sorry?"

Snow tilted her head and thought whether Emma was talking to someone from her past, something that she had never talked much about.

Knowing it was wrong, she stood completely still, hoping that she would get some information that her daughter would be reluctant to give her, but what she got was not something she wanted to hear.

"Of course you can visit, just not tomorrow…because I'm busy...I'm sorry, mom."

At her last word, Snow let out a little squeak and dropped the nappy bag to the floor, which caused Emma to turn on her heels, the saviour's eyes instantly widened.

"I'll call you back in a minute," she quickly said into the phone and then hung up, leaving no room for debate.

Holding up both hands, Emma said, "don't freak out."

Snow nodded, in somewhat of a trance, and just walked past Emma and over to the crib, where she lay her sleeping son down. She then turned back to the kitchen and began frantically looking for something, not that she knew what it was, she just needed to do something with her shaking hands.

Emma rolled her eyes and walked over to her mother, grabbing her hand, she said, "I said don't freak out, mom."

Snow clenched her jaw, usually she would be happy to hear that word come out of her daughter's mouth, but now that she compared it to whoever she had just said it to, it sounded much more forced.

"Who were you talking to?" she tried to ask as casually as possible.

Emma bit her lip and said, "if I'm going to explain this, you should probably call dad…"

The brunette looked down at her phone and began to mentally calculate how long it would take her husband to get home from the station and she shook her head, knowing how anxious she already was, she was sure that if she had to wait fifteen minutes, she would spontaneously combust.

The blonde rolled her eyes and waved her hand, the next moment, Prince Charming appeared in a cloud of white smoke with widened eyes.

He looked around the apartment and said, "can I please have warning next time?"

Snow shook her head and his smile sobered as he noticed her expression, "what happened?"

The saviour took a deep breath and said, "you should probably sit down for this…"

The blond man looked at his wife questioningly and she just pointed at the couch and went over and fell upon it herself.

David followed suit after throwing his daughter a confused looked and then he looked up at her expectantly.

Emma took a deep breath and then went to sit on the coffee table facing them, she had thought about revealing this piece of information to them, but she was afraid of hurting them.

"Mom…just heard me on the phone…" she began.

Snow let out a huff as it became clear that Emma was trying to stall the explanation she wanted to hear and said, "Emma was apparently on the phone with her 'mom'."

"Adoptive mom," Emma retorted instantly and then her head fell into her hands as she realised just how tactless that was.

"You were adopted?" Charming asked slowly, while instinctively bringing an arm around his very tense wife.

The blonde nodded and said, "I found out when I was sixteen…"

"You thought that they were your real parents?" Snow asked somewhat harshly.

Emma narrowed her eyes at her birth mother, she knew that the woman was not quite as obsessed with parents having to be biological since she had accepted Regina, but this was clearly just too close to home.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but to me…they are my real parents."

"But…" Snow said somewhat pathetically and David just squeezed her shoulder in support.

"For sixteen years, I thought they were my birth parents…" she began, only to be interrupted by her mother's question.

"Then how did you end up in prison and why didn't you keep Henry?"

Emma winced and David shot her a warning look.

The princess sighed and ran her hand over her face and then reached over to put a hand on her daughter's leg, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I didn't mean it like that…"

The blonde nodded and swallowed hard, and continued, "when I found out I was adopted, I ran away thinking that I could find my 'real parents'…but instead I found Neal…everything I told you about him happened…" she said somewhat awkwardly, she sincerely didn't want to rehash that particular story. "Anyway, when I was in prison, I realised that I screwed up and that I shouldn't have run away from a pretty perfect life. I was going to write to them, but obviously they got called since I was seventeen and they literally showed up to visit when I picked up the pen…"

Snow nodded for her to continue when her breath hitched.

Emma took a deep breath and said, "I said I was sorry but they just accepted me back, they said that I was their daughter and blood couldn't change that…"

David felt as though he was about to cry, he knew that he should have been in some way jealous, but all he could think was how thankful he was to these people. He had spent a lot of time thinking about what it must have been like for his little girl all alone and pregnant in a prison cell, but now he knew she wasn't alone and he could only feel relief. His wife, on the other hand, was another story.

"Mo…err…Natalie told me that if I wanted to keep Henry then I should, she offered to look after him while I finished school, but…we weren't the richest of families. I wanted to give Henry his best chance and that was Regina. Thinking back, I did have this strange feeling that I had to give him up, so maybe it had something to do with the curse breaking?"

Snow nodded, it all made complete sense, but she didn't want it to have to make sense, she had this strange feeling about sharing her daughter, it hurt to know that there were people who were actually capable of telling embarrassing childhood stories about her.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" David asked softly, and Emma seemed to visibly relax as it seemed that at least one of her parents understood, or at least wasn't on the verge of a breakdown.

"Well when I first came to Storybrooke, Henry told me that Snow was my mother, and every time I nearly talked about them, it just felt wrong. I know that I didn't believe that Mary Margaret was my birth mother, but on some level, telling you felt wrong, like it would hurt you."

The brunette finally looked at her daughter in the eyes and she sighed, she could see that the woman was desperately looking for some kind of approval, like she believed that she was actually mad with her. She finally realised that the way she was acting was hurting her child and reached across to hold her hand.

Emma smiled in return and squeezed the other woman's hand, "I know I should have told you earlier…"

Snow shook her head and said, "you told us now…but your m…she said that she wanted to visit?"

The blonde raised her eyebrow and said, "well…I said no, Storybrooke isn't exactly the safest of places."

"Nothing has happened since Zelena, and this is probably one of the only tines that the town line will be passable," David laughed, "if they want to visit, then they should."

The sheriff took a deep breath, she had hoped that this could be a revelation for another day, but it was somewhat necessary if she was going to tell them the next part of it.

"There's something else…"

Each of her parents nodded in encouragement, they were pretty sure that there wasn't anything that could match what they had just learned.

Emma bit her lip, she was beginning to wish that she knew more about the Enchanted Forest so that she at least knew what to expect, but she decided to just go for it, "I'm…gay…"

Snow blinked a few times and then just nodded, "okay…" she said just wondering how she could have never noticed before.

"You're not mad?" the other woman said, suddenly looking like a very vulnerable teenager.

The brunette shook and her head and Charming explained, "it's not really a big deal in the Enchanted Forest."

A smile spread across her face, but it suddenly dropped when she realised what came next, "during the missing year…well Regina didn't know that I was adopted, so she kind of wiped my memories of my childhood, so I didn't talk to them for a year…When I got my memories back, I came up with a lie that I was in an amazing relationship and that I didn't realise how long it had been. They asked what her name was and I panicked and said…Regina…"

The colour drained from Snow's face and Emma quickly held up her hands.

"Calm down, it was just the first name that came to my head at the time…but it's also the reason that they can't visit…"

David looked between the two most important women in his face, he knew that the answer was obvious, but he wondered if it would even stand a chance of working.

"Well…they deserve to visit their…you…" he began, suddenly realising that she was someone else's daughter, but he quickly pushed that piece of information away for later. "Just ask Regina to pretend while they're here…"

"Are you insane?" Emma asked instantly, "she would fireball me if I even asked, plus she has Robin…"

David tilted his head at the hint of jealously but decided that it should also be pushed aside for now, "she would just be pretending and you two are kind of friends now…"

Emma looked to her mother who seemed to still be processing and decided that talking to Regina would at least get her out of here if her mother was to suddenly explode.


"You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?" Regina repeated, which earned her a nod from the blonde standing in front of her couch.

"And you want me to pretend to be…" Henry said, clearly still only halfway to understanding.

Emma sighed and said, "my girlfriend's son…"

"Why?" Henry asked with a tilted head.

"Because they would freak out if they found out that I found my son, they would think that I would end up marrying Regina…"

The brunette looked between his mothers', trying to hide a smile at the possibility, he said, "why can't they think that?"

"Well for one…your mom has Robin and for two…err…"

"The two of us getting married would be the most ridiculous idea in the entire world?" Regina suggested, though Henry noticed that she wasn't quite as sure as she appeared to be. He wondered if Emma's superpower would pick up on it, if her shoulders slumping were anything to go by, he guessed that it didn't.

"Yeah…that…" the saviour said in a somewhat defeated tone, "so what do you say? They'll only be here for a week…tops."

Regina raised her eyebrow at the sheriff and thought about this, she would be lying if she said that she didn't find the blonde attractive, but she had certainly never thought about her in that way. Plus she had a boyfriend who was supposed to be her soulmate.

"One week?" she said for clarification.

"Yeah and then you can go back to being passive aggressive."

"I am not passive aggressive," the brunette said in faux outrage.

"Okay then…you can go back to being full on aggressive, is that a yes?"

Regina rolled her eyes and said, "I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

The brunette would be lying if she said that she'd never thought about the possibility, but there was just too much against the two of them. The saviour's parents would never approve and she had her soulmate now. Even while with Robin, she'd considered the possibility once or twice, but she figured that these were just fantasies from a crush that she had long gotten over.

Emma bit her lip and considered her next words carefully, "there's one more thing…"

"What else could have possibly lied about?" the mayor sighed dramatically.

"Well…they think we've been together for a year…"

The brunette nodded for her to continue, though she had narrowed her eyes significantly.

"They think we live together…" the sheriff said awkwardly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Regina sighed.

Emma smirked at her frustration and said, "one week and I'll sleep in the guest room, we just need to make it look like I live here…"

"So you want me to trash my house, Swan, so your idiotic lie doesn't fall apart?"

"Oh, how hilarious, your majesty," the blonde replied sardonically, "I meant like personal items and pictures…"

Regina rolled her eyes and waved her hand, the next moment, some of the decorations changed and the photo frames were now containing pictures that should never exist, namely, pictures of the three of them together.

Emma went over and picked up a picnic that she had never attended and she allowed herself a moment to recognise just how much of a good couple they made.

"They should be here at about ten thirty tomorrow…so maybe we could have breakfast…"

"Henry has school and I start work at nine," Regina replied instantly.

"Dinner then?"

Regina rolled her eyes and said, "fine."

Emma smiled and then rocked on her heels for a moment, before she said, "I'll give you some peace then."

With that the blonde made her exit and Henry couldn't help noticing the disappointed look on his brunette mother's face.


Emma paced frantically outside Granny's, she was beginning to wonder whether there was an issue with the town line. She didn't feel like having to explain Storybrooke over the phone to her disappointed parents.

Finally though, she saw the mini bus that they had rented every year for trips, pulling up to the side of the road and she somehow felt a calming feeling come over her.

First to get out was Riley, her eleven year old sister, followed by Blake, her seventeen year old brother.

Riley ran straight up to her for a hug and Blake just tried to act cool and look down at his phone. Emma rolled her eyes and brought him into the hug, which he soon fell into.

A moment later, she heard the driver and passenger's side doors slam shut and she was soon engulfed in a hug by Natalie and Nathan Swan.

She hugged them back and then managed to say, "Crushing…my…ribs…."

They each laughed and pulled back, her brunette mother said, "sorry dear, we haven't seen you in such a long time…"

Emma felt guilt for a moment, but her mother's voice always calmed her down and she just smiled at them, "I know…I'm sorry…"

"It's fine, we're here now…" Nathan said with a smile as he inspected his daughter, his eyes instantly falling to the sheriff's badge on her waist.

Blake seemed to notice it at the same time and his eyes widened, "you have a gun…"

He reached out to touch it, but Emma swatted his hand away, he held his hand up to his chest as if it had actually hurt and said, "mom…"

Natalie shook her head and was about to reply when the sound of a stroller coming up behind them caught her attention and she turned to look at the two oddly familiar people. Looking at the man, she was trying to figure out where she had seen that eye colour before, when Blake started moaning.

"Mom…tell Emma that I can at least touch it."

"No you can't," the blonde retorted with her hand covering the holster.

"Just take the bullets out," he whined.

"No!"

Natalie finally turned back to look at her bickering children and rolled her eyes, "no Blake, you are not touching your sister's gun," she sighed and walked over to stand in front of Emma.

"You are such a douche, Emma," Blake grumbled.

"Blake," Natalie scolded.

"At least I have a gun," Emma said petulantly.

"Emma!" the older women tried again, though she had a feeling that neither of them were currently listening to her as they stared at each other with narrowed eyes.

Natalie just shook her head, "you're supposed to be an adult, Emma," she sighed.

Emma's attention was finally caught when someone cleared her throat and her eyes widened slightly as she finally realised that her birth parents were witnessing this whole scene and she could see just how tightly Snow was gripping the stroller.

The blonde shot her mother an apologetic look and turned back to her adoptive parents.

She knew that she had experienced some pretty strange stuff in her life, but she couldn't help the feeling that this was going to at least be in the top three.

"Err...this is Mary Margaret and David…Nolan, I used to be Mary Margaret's roommate, before she had Neal," she explained to her family, she quickly cleared her throat and Snow reluctantly smiled at the other woman. "This is Natalie, Nathan, Blake and Riley…Swan…"

Mary Margaret said nothing and David quickly nudged her and she managed to say through gritted teeth, "pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Natalie replied with a tilt of her head.

The brunette woman just nodded and proceeded to pass the little family and push the stroller into the diner, followed closely by David who managed to actually offer them a genuine smile.


"Snow, relax," David whispered from their position at the counter where she was clutching a cup of coffee, trying to covertly look over at Emma. Every time, she noticed just how comfortable her daughter looked in the presence of the people she considered to be intruders.

"How do you expect me to relax?" she shot back.

"Would you prefer that they didn't adopt her and that she grew up alone?"

"No, I would prefer if we didn't have to put her in that wardrobe, I would prefer if she grew up in the Enchanted Forest," she sighed deeply.

"Well that didn't happen," David said softly and brought his hand up to lightly run up and down his wife's back, "she found us, and she wouldn't be the person that we both love if she wasn't adopted by them."

Snow was silent for a moment before she admitted, "I know that, but doesn't make me feel any better about someone else being her mother."

She shot a look over her shoulder and as if to prove her point, she watched as Natalie brought up a napkin to wipe some sauce off Emma's face. For a full two seconds, the brunette waited for her daughter to bat the woman's hand away, but it didn't happen. Instead, Snow got to watch as Emma smiled at the older woman and thank her.

A cracking sound interrupted her stare and a burning on her hand made her look down to see the smashed coffee cup, with the steaming liquid covering her hand, though she had yet to register the pain.

"Mary Margaret," David said in concern and she instantly noticed that he was no longer whispering, she looked around and saw that everyone in the diner was looking at her. Her eyes eventually fell upon Emma, who looked at her for a moment and then whispered something to Natalie and stood from the booth. She was across the diner within seconds, and she quickly whispered something to Ruby, along the lines of 'watch Neal.'

Before Snow knew it, she was being pulled into the backroom of the diner and Emma was looking at her scorched hand.

"What happened?" she asked while placing her own hand over it and allowing her magic to flow until she had taken away the pain that was starting to develop, but had left a mark for other's benefit.

Dropping her mother's hand, she looked at her expectantly.

"It's nothing," Snow mumbled as she brought her hand up to inspect the damage, or at least what others would think was damage, and she sighed in relief when she saw that it was just red.

"It's not nothing, you destroyed a cup with your bare hands," the blonde retorted.

"She cleaned your face," Snow finally admitted after her daughter stared at her for a couple seconds.

Emma furrowed her brow and gave her father a quick look to see if he possibly had some explanation, but he looked just as confused as she felt.

"What?" the blonde finally laughed.

"She wiped some sauce off your face and you thanked her. When I tried to wipe some hot cocoa off your face last week, you dodged me and did it yourself," the brunette explained as she crossed her arms rather childishly.

"You're mad because I didn't let you clean me?" Emma tried to clarify without laughing, her mother was clearly on the verge of having some kind of mental breakdown that would either involve a lot of tears or a murder spree of every Swan she wasn't related to.

"This is not a joke, Emma," Snow mumbled, mostly because she was starting to realise just how ridiculous she was being.

The blonde raised her hands in a surrender like way and then walked over to place both hands on her mother's shoulders, "do you think I get mad when Regina wipes Henry's face?" she asked as softly as possible.

Snow narrowed her eyes, because she was getting the distinctive feeling that her daughter was actually being more mature than her in this moment and it wasn't helping.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," she mumbled.

"Yes you would, you would tell me that I'm being insane and as long as Henry is able to see both me and Regina as his mother, then the small things don't matter."

The brunette sighed deeply, she had to admit that certainly sounded like something she would say.

"I suppose I owe them a thank you for making you so smart," she replied with a half sigh and half laugh.

"I think the hope speeches are genetic," Emma chuckled and then finally brought the other woman into a hug.

Pulling away, the blonde smiled at her father and said, "I know this is difficult, but it's just for a week. If you're really that uncomfortable, maybe try and avoid seeing them?"

Snow sighed and nodded, "we can go and have breakfast at home, maybe I should go to work after lunch?"

Charming brought his hand around her shoulder and assured "I can handle Neal."

With that, they each left the back room and Emma smiled at Natalie and Nathan as her birth parents went over to get Neal and pay their bill.

Sliding into the booth, she instantly came up with a lie and said, "they're fine, just sleep deprivation."

Natalie looked over at them, and for a moment she could have sworn that Mary Margaret scowled at her.

"Maybe they could use some tips?" Nathan suggested.

Emma's eyes widened as she thought about Snow's reaction to that and shook her head, "I think they just need sleep and they'll be as good as new, dad."

He looked at her for a moment trying to figure out why the prospect freaked her out so much, but he decided that there was a more pressing matter, "you know, I always thought that you were allergic to small towns."

Emma furrowed her brow and after taking a gulp of her hot cocoa, she asked, "what would make you think that?"

"Well, I just assumed that a town like this would bore you, I mean…there can't be much for the sheriff of a sleepy town like this to do," he chuckled.

The blonde bit her lip and managed to refrain from saying something along the lines of 'you have no idea,' and instead went for, "I like it here."

"Is that because of the town or because of a certain person?" Natalie laughed as she nudged her daughter, "when are we going to meet this Regina by the way?"

Emma felt a blush coming up her face and swallowed hard as she ignored her brother's smirk, she replied, "she has work right now, but you should be meeting us for dinner."

"She couldn't clear her schedule to meet her girlfriend's parents?" Blake teased, and Emma threw a balled up napkin at him, which he promptly caught.

"She is the mayor…" Emma tried to justify, even though she knew the real reason was because Regina was very unlikely to clear her schedule for the woman who was barely even her friend. For moment, she considered that she would probably do it for Robin, and then she tried to hide her cringe at the thought, she had been trying to quash thoughts like it for a while…not that she would ever admit that she knew what they meant.

As if to prove her wrong, the bell rang out and Emma heard the distinctive clicking of heels, she looked over her shoulder and saw Regina absentmindedly looking at her phone as she walked over to the counter.

"Excuse me…" Emma mumbled before she basically flew out of her seat, ignoring Blake's attempt to point out just how hot the brunette was.

"What the hell?" the saviour whispered as she was finally in ear shot of the formal Evil Queen.

Regina looked up from her phone, as if she was surprised by the existence of anyone outside of it, "Miss Swan?"

Emma quickly shushed her and said, "you promised not to call me that for a week…"

The brunette rolled her eyes and said, "Emma?"

"You said that you couldn't have breakfast with us because you have work."

Regina tilted her head and retorted, "you do realise that we're not actually together?"

Emma felt a pang in her stomach, but managed to move past it and said through gritted teeth, "I know that, but what are they going to think about you claiming to busy and then just sauntering into the diner?"

"I wasn't sauntering, I was trying to get coffee before the sheriff accosted me."

The blonde tilted her head and said, "how do you expect me to explain this to them, I mean you can't walk out without saying hello or they'll know that something is wrong?"

The mayor shot a glance over Emma's shoulder and said, "I get the feeling that they already know…"

Emma held back a sigh and shot her parents a reassuring look, before she turned back to Regina, "you have to meet them now."

"I actually do my job," the brunette whispered back with a hint of frustration in her voice.

The blonde decided that she had no other option, figuring that it was because it would look like a couple thing to do, she pouted, knowing that the expression was close enough to Henry's to convince the woman.

Regina gave her an unimpressed look and said, "fine, I will meet your parents while I wait for my coffee."

The blonde let out a relieved sigh and slipped her arm through Regina's as she pulled her over, the mayor was about to protest, but she secretly noticed just how comfortable the position was.

"Mom, dad…this is Regina Mills," Emma introduced, and then pointed to her siblings and said, "Blake and Riley."

When she said her brother's name, she stared at him intently until he stopped staring at the brunette, and the boy instantly slumped in his seat with blush consuming his face.

Unexpectedly, Regina found herself engulfed in a hug a mere second later from Natalie and received a smile from Nathan who had opted to stay in his seat.

The woman's eyes widened slightly and she looked pleadingly at the blonde who knew she wasn't the biggest fan of physical contact, not least from someone that she had just met.

Emma saw the cry for help and quickly cleared her throat, "mom…release…"

Natalie laughed and pulled away from the very tense woman she believed to be her daughter's girlfriend and said, "I'm sorry, just excited to see the woman who made Emma forget she had a family."

Regina tried not to laugh when she practically heard Emma cringe behind her, mostly because Natalie Swan didn't realise just how true her words literally were.

The mayor was saved from having to come up with some reply when Ruby walked over with a to go cup, "your coffee madam mayor."

The brunette refrained from sighing in relief and took the offered beverage, "thank you, Ruby."

The waitress gave the sheriff a quick smirk and went back over to the counter, the blonde rolled her eyes at the tall woman's back and turned back to Regina.

"You should really be getting back to work, right?"

Regina saw as the other woman's parents were about to protest to the prospect, and, managing to keep all of her usual sarcasm out of her voice, she said, "I'm afraid that I have a lot of work to do, but it was lovely meeting all of you."

Taking a step back, she was about to make an escape, before she realised that the four people in front of her were looking at her and Emma expectantly and she realised what usually happens when couples part.

Holding back a sigh, she decided that she could at least hold up this façade for a week and walked over to the woman who was supposedly her girlfriend.

"Dinner will be at six…dear," she said, before leaned forward and capturing the blonde's lips in a quick peck. She then turned on her heels and regally began making her way back to Town Hall.

Emma blinked a few times and then allowed her mother to lead her back over to the booth.

Blake reached across and waved his hand over her face.

"I think she's broken," Nathan laughed.

"Well, if I had a girlfriend that hot…" Blake began, and Emma finally blinked out of her shock, this time the napkin made contact with the teen's face.

A/N As always, need to thank QueenApples, my beta XD

Let me know if you're interested in more :)