A/N: Hello Lovlies! This is my first Christmas themed story inspired by a prompt given by fanfictionaddiction as a role play option on out Facebook Group. If you're reading, hope you like it!
Disclaimer: Once Upon A Time and all character's and familiar dialogue from the show belong to Disney/ABC and the show's brilliant creators and writers. No profit is being made from this just having fun with my favorite show.
1
Operation Scrooge
Emma shuffled her way along Main Street, pulling her scarf up to her nose to block out the frigid December air. She couldn't believe she had talked herself into this. The last time she'd gone Christmas shopping was, well, never. Snow, (Calling her that was strange, but calling her mom just wasn't gonna happen…yet) had joked it was just because Emma had "an allergy to shopping," as she put it. Which, the girl had to admit, was true.
That wasn't the sole reason why she'd never gone Christmas shopping though. As strange as it seemed, she'd never had any one to buy gifts for before. Growing up as an orphan had been tough on Emma Swan. She learned real quick that no one just handed things to her on a silver spoon. If she wanted something, she had to fight for it.
Most of her Christmas's ended up duds because of this. Once in awhile she would have a nice foster parent for the holidays who would spoil her with a new coat and maybe some candy in her stockings, but that was about it. She never grew up believing in things like Santa Claus, (although, if a town full of fairy tale characters could be dropped in the middle of Maine by an evil queen, who knew?) and only once did she ever get to bake cookies and she never helped decorate the Christmas tree; that was always the older kid's jobs. She had said as much to Mary Margaret one night over hot coco, and when Mama Snow came back into existence, she was bound and determined to change that.
Christmas music had been floating around the house since Thanksgiving, and back at home, lights were being lit both inside and outside the apartment complex. The cookie baking, house decorating marathon, which Henry had nicknamed Operation Tinsel, was to start tonight when she got home. Snow wanted to do it sooner, but Henry asked them to wait until he was home from school. All this Christmas cheer was making the blonde's head spin. Her son, on the other hand, was having a ball. "No one's too old for Christmas Ma," he'd told her when she claimed 28 was way past acceptable "Christmas enthusiasm" age.
Emma smiled to herself in the cold morning air. Though she would never admit it, she was glad they were making a big fuss about the holiday. It was her first Christmas with Henry and everyone else's first holiday since the curse. They deserved to go all out if they wanted to.
It was also the reason Emma was out so early, heading to see her least favorite person in Stroybrooke. She didn't want to do it, but Gold was the only one who could help her with this particular mission.
The door jingled as she stepped inside, stamping her feet and rubbing her hands together in an effort to stay warm.
"Good morning Emma," Belle greeted from behind the counter.
"Hey, Belle," Emma said, raising her eyebrow in surprise. "What are you doing here so early?"
"Oh, Rumple hasn't been feeling well, so I said I'd help out."
"Whoever it is, tell them to get the hell out of my shop!" came the pawnbroker's voice from the back room.
Belle frowned, "Don't mind him," she said, coming out from behind the counter as Emma begin to look around, scouring for the perfect gifts for her family, "He's been in a bit of a mood lately. How can I help?"
Emma chuckled, "More than usual?" she joked. Belle stared at her disapprovingly. She cleared her throat, "Right, so um, I'm looking for something to give my family for Christmas," she admitted, blushing.
"Christmas?" Belle asked confused, "What's that?"
Emma mentally face palmed herself. Of course Belle had no clue about Christmas. The girl had been locked up in an insane asylum for 28 years! The blonde racked her brain, trying to think of the best way to explain. "It's um… it's like this big holiday where everyone comes over and eats a lot and you light a tree and Santa comes and brings the kids gift's and-" she looked at Belle, realizing she had perplexed her even farther.
"You hang lanterns from trees?" she asked, seeming both alarmed and intrigued, "but wouldn't the fire burn them down?"
Emma bit back a laugh. How in the world was she supposed to explain the entirety of Christmas to someone from a whole other world, which she knew nothing about in just one sentence? Then she had an idea. She set down the old fashioned suit she'd been thinking of buying for her father and dragged Belle toward the door. "Come on," she said, "Snow will need all the help she can get with the decorations, and I'm sure she can explain it better than me,"
Belle laughed as the cold air hit her in a whoosh, "If you say so."
When they reached the apartment, Emma shook off her scarf and hat, and hung them on the rack by the front door. Then did the same for Belle.
"I'm home," she called, relishing the word as she said them. Like Christmas shopping and many other things, she never had a reason to say those words before and as odd as it was, she liked the way they felt on her tongue. They reminded her that as insufferable as they could be sometimes, she finally had a family to come home to.
Snap out of it Swan, she thought to herself. She'd been having mushy thoughts a lot lately and it unnerved her. Emma Swan did not do mushy. Period. She led Belle into the kitchen, where Mary Margaret was pulling a freshly baked batch of cookies out of the oven. Emma reached for one, but Snow swatted her hand away.
"Hot," she said sternly. Emma just smiled.
"I tried that too," Henry smiled from his flour-covered place behind the counter. "Grams did the same thing to me."
"Hey kid," Emma said, ruffling his hair affectionately. "I hope you don't mind Mary Margaret, I brought over an extra pair of hands to help with the decorating," She gestured to Gold's wife.
Snow quickly removed her oven mitts and wiped her hands on her apron. "Of course not," she said, smiling as she pulled Belle into a hug. "We need all the help we can get."
Belle grinned, "I've never celebrated Christmas before. Emma tells me you light trees on fire?"
Snow giggled as she separated from her friend, "Not exactly. David's in the living room lighting the tree now, we can join him while we wait for the cookies to cool." Belle nodded enthusiastically and Snow followed her as she made her way to the couch. "Where's Gold? I thought you two were inseparable since the wedding," she joked.
Belle giggled, "He's been a bit under the weather lately. He's back at the shop, resting."
"Oh, yeah," Emma called from the kitchen, "What's up with Gold the Grouch? He didn't sound sick."
Something's wrong with Gold?" Snow asked, turning to look at her friend.
Henry laughed at his mother's joke. This time, Belle joined in. "I'm really not sure," she answered honestly as Emma and Henry came into the living room baring five steaming cups of coco.
"To keep out the cold," Emma smiled, handing a cup to Belle and then her mother, setting down the third for David when he was done with the tree.
"Thanks," Belle said, blushing as the hot steam warmed her cheeks. "Anyway, to answer you're question Snow, he said he hasn't been feeling well lately, although the only thing I noticed that was wrong with him is his old temper seems to have made a comeback."
"Oh?"
"Yes, all he's done for the past week is grumble from the back of his shop. He was going to close it today, until I decided to come in and help."
"Why would he want to close it so close to the holidays?" Snow asked.
Belle shrugged "It seems the closer we get to this…Christmas, is that what it's called?"
All four of the others nodded approvingly.
"Ok," Belle smiled, "It seems the closer it comes, the happier everyone else is, the grumpier he is."
"Sound's like a regular Ebenezer Scrooge to me," Emma laughed. She was met with four blank stares.
Seriously? she thought. You people are fairytale characters and haven't heard of Ebenezer Scrooge? "None of you have heard of A Christmas Carol?" she asked, "Henry?"
The kid looked at her and thought hard, "Is that the one about the guy who is really selfish and gets visited by ghosts on Christmas Eve?"
Emma smiled, "You got it kid."
"Oooh that's a good one! You're right, Mr. Gold does sound like Scrooge," he smiled, "We should help him."
Emma chuckled; this didn't surprise her a bit. "And how do you suppose we do that?"
"'Scuse me!" David, interjected laughing, "confused Prince in the room. What are you two babbling about?"
Emma smiled, "You wanna tell 'em kid?"
Henry's eyes lit up, "Yeah! Come on Gramps, come sit."
David chuckled and abandoned the still tangled Christmas lights, "Ok sport," he said, picking up the still warm coco plopping himself on the couch, "lay it on us."
Henry was bouncing up and down in excitement, "Ok, Sso there's this guy right? And he's a really rich businessman, but he's also really selfish. He hates Christmas because he has no family to spend it with, and his only friend, and business partner, um, Jack?" he looked at Emma for confirmation.
"Jacob," she corrected, "Jacob Marley"
"That's it!" Henry said, "Anyway he died on Christmas Eve."
"Ouch," said David, playing along.
"I know, right? So the year after he dies, Scrooge becomes even more selfish, and when he doesn't let his best employee, Bob Crachet, off for Christmas, Marley comes to visit him."
Snow's eyes widen in faux anticipation, but she's really enjoying seeing her grandson become so animated with his story telling.
Henry smiles at his Grandma's reaction and continues eagerly, "Marley tells Ebenezer he's too selfish, and that if he doesn't do something soon, he'll end up like him, covered in heavy changes representing all the bad stuff he did during his life."
This time it was Belle who gasped. Henry giggled.
"At First Scrooge thinks he's hallucinating. Ghosts aren't real. Jacob tells him he'll be visited by three sprits that night; the Ghosts of Christmas, Past, Present, and Future. If he can learn to change his ways by the next day, he won't end up like Marley."
"So all we need to do is find a bunch of ghosts to kidnap Gold?" asked David skeptically.
"No!" Henry laughed, "The ghost's showed Scrooge the man he used to be, before he became obsessed with money, and Scrooge realized he could change back. I remember dad telling me one time that Christmas was the day Gold chose his powers over him and broke the deal. If we can get Gold and his son to have a good Christmas together, he'll be happy again." Henry beamed at the adults.
Emma wanted to tell him that it was probably going to be a little more complicated than that, but she couldn't spoil his fun. "And how would we do that?" she asked instead.
Henry thought about it. "What if, we have a huge town wide Christmas Party, then everyone could be in on it, and Mr. Gold would see how great Christmas really is!"
Snow perked up, "You know, it's been a while since we had a good party. I'm in."
"We're all in kid," David said, winking at Emma.
"Great," Henry smiled, "We can call it, Operation Scrooge!"
Emma sat back and smiled at her son, this sure was going to be an interesting Christmas.
