Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time does not belong to me.
I guess you can class this as an AU, set after the return from Neverland.
Emma"! Henry's loud yell had her wincing. "Gram and Gramps are here to pick us up". She could hear the telltale thumps of him charging up the stairs.
"Wow, Henry. I don't think they heard you in Boston". Emma finished slipping on her heels, just as he arrived in the doorway of her room. She straightened up and struck a fake model pose." So, how do I look?"
Henry scrunched up his nose in an expression that was all Regina. "All right". He said the two words like they were being tortured out of him and Emma had to bite back a laugh.
"Just all right? I think someone needs some lessons from Gramps Charming." Emma took two strides forward and wrapped an arm around his neck, pretending to give him a noogie. She changed it into a hug at the last moment and Henry relaxed into it instantly. Emma silently marvelled at the fact that hugs with her son were now an everyday occurrence. The kid was growing like a weed though. She'd noticed just the other day that Regina no longer had to bend to talk to him anymore, and she was sure in a few more years he would have outstripped both of them.
"Yeah yeah", Henry made a face as he drew back. "Here, you got to wear this". He shoved something into her hand.
Emma grimaced at the sprig of mistletoe. "Oh, no way, kid". It was bad enough that Mary Margaret had guilt tripped her into dressing up for this silly party. She absolutely drew the line at actually participating.
"C'mon Emma, you have to!" Henry pleaded, attempting his best puppy dog look. "It's tradition".
Apparently the mistletoe festival was a huge deal in the Enchanted Forest. It was a symbol of peace, and all who met under it agreed to put aside any enmity for this one night. Emma wasn't buying it though and just figured it was all just a big excuse for everyone to go around smooching each other.
"Nope. Not gonna happen". Emma tried to hand back the sprig and Henry dodged away. "Get back here you little shh..shrimp". Her threats fell on deaf ears as Henry laughed and dashed out the door. Damn annoying kid taking advantage of the fact that she couldn't chase him properly in high heels. She clenched her fist and then winced as she accidentally crushed the sharp end of the sprig into her palm. A tiny drop of blood welled up and Emma froze in place, her eyes briefly flashing pink. The sprig of crushed mistletoe fell from her suddenly slack hand, to lay forgotten on the floor.
"Emma, you ready to go?" Mary Margaret popped her head around the door. Emma blinked and turned to face her. "Oh, you look lovely". She stepped fully into the room, her face doing that soft adoring expression that made Emma simultaneously want to run away and curl up into a ball, all at the same time.
"Thanks". She smiled and allowed Mary Margaret to fuss over her. The knee length red dress she had on, was her concession for the night. The mistletoe festival was apparently not a skinny jeans and boots type of party.
"You look great too", Emma said, taking in the elegant cream dress, that stopped just above a pair of three inch white heels. The pronounced curve of her belly was clearly visible against the fabric. "Are you sure you should be wearing heels, though?"
"I'm pregnant, not incompetent", Mary Margaret instantly scowled. "I swear, between you and your father, the overbearing concern's been driving me absolutely nuts."
"Ok. Was just checking." Emma immediately put her hands up in surrender, trying to prevent a rant. Mary Margaret was like a ticking bomb at times and the smallest things could set her off. "Just let me grab my coat, and I'll be ready to go".
"Fine. I'll be waiting in the car", Mary Margaret huffed and stomped out of the room, her pregnant belly, making her gait less than graceful. Emma hurriedly grabbed her black pea coat from the closet and rushed after her, worried about Mary Margaret walking down the loft stairs alone. She needn't have bothered though as David was already hovering at the top. Mary Margaret shot him a dark look. She pointedly ignored his offered arm and grabbed the railing instead. David followed her like an eager puppy and continued to hover as Mary Margaret struggled into her coat. Emma winced at the increasingly irritated expression on the pregnant woman's face.
She flung an arm around Henry, who was patiently waiting downstairs and deliberately held him back, recognising the signs of an incoming Mary Margaret explosion. They usually blew over fairly quickly, but Emma wasn't going to get caught in the crossfire. Sorry David, but you're taking one for the team tonight.
Emma still didn't quite know how she felt about the pregnancy. Sure she was happy for them, but a part of her couldn't help feeling resentful, especially after Mary Margaret's confession in the Echo Caves. Emma still remembers being that kid who was sent away from her first family after they got pregnant with their own child. It sometimes made it hard to smile and share in Mary Margaret's obvious excitement and happiness about the pregnancy, when it felt like she was being replaced because she wasn't good enough. It also didn't help that Mary Margaret was pretty much having the equivalent of a celebrity pregnancy, so all milestones were publically celebrated.
The only person who seemed to notice her turmoil about her future sibling was Regina. Every time Mary Margaret made a pregnancy related announcement, she would feel Regina's gaze on her. She never said a word to Emma about it though. In fact the only times Regina ever acknowledged the pregnancy, was to make some sort of caustic comment needling Mary Margaret about the physical changes she was going through. Her latest offering involving a bloated puffer fish, had actually forced Emma to leave the room, because she couldn't hold in her laughter.
Mary Margaret had finally gotten her coat on, and David rushed to the door to hold it open for her. Emma waited a couple more seconds to be safe, before guiding Henry after the soon to be squabbling couple.
"Where's your mistletoe?" Henry frowned at Emma's outfit. Mary Margaret and David had already disappeared into the crowd at the town hall, whisked away on their seemingly endless schmoozing duties. Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best, sprigs of mistletoe pinned to their clothing, and as Emma suspected, there was a whole lot of hugging and kissing going on.
"Back at the apartment". Emma shrugged, her attention drawn away as a loud cheer went up from the crowd. One of the glowing berries on the huge mistletoe plant hanging in the centre of the room, had dimmed, releasing a cloud of fairy dust over the room.
"What?" Henry scrabbled at her coat, desperately trying to check under it. "No, you're supposed to be wearing it".
"Here's the thing, kid", Emma caught his hands. "I'm only here tonight because I wanted to support Mary Margaret. I'm really not all that into this whole mistletoe tradition."
"No! You're going to ruin everything!" Henry ripped his hands away from her.
It was Emma's turn to frown. The kid was way overreacting over something so trivial. "Hey, calm down. It's not the end of the world".
"Henry! What's the matter?"
That smoky alto voice could only belong to one person. Emma looked up to see Regina place a soothing hand on Henry's shoulder, her entire attention focused on him.
"Relax, Regina. He's upset because I'm not wearing mistletoe." Emma let her gaze drift over the other woman. "Something I see you've opted out of as well." Regina was wearing a simple black dress, that hugged her curves in all the right places. She looked beautiful and Emma snapped her mouth shut, before she blurted out something embarrassing like wow.
Regina glanced briefly at her, before shifting her gaze back to their son. "Henry?"
"We need to go back to the apartment." Henry's jaw set in determination. "Mom, can you drive us there please?" He looked beseechingly up at Regina.
"Woah there, Henry". Emma quickly intervened as she saw Regina's expression soften. The other woman had been way too lenient with Henry recently. It was understandable given what they'd been through in Neverland, but the kid was starting to take advantage. "We're not going back just to pick up some silly mistletoe".
"That wasn't just any mistletoe!" Henry burst out, anger clouding his features. "It's special. It was supposed to help you find your true love."
"What?" Emma's eye's widened and she forced herself not to take a step back. "How?"
"Grandpa Gold and Tinkerbell enchanted it". Henry said sullenly. "All it needs is fairy dust to activate it and you would have been able to see who your true love is".
Emma went very still as she struggled to contain the anger that flared up. She reminded herself that Henry was still a child, with a very simplistic black and white view of things.
"Henry, you've had first hand experience with the consequences of doing magic on someone without their permission". Regina's voice was firm as she turned him slightly to ensure that he met her gaze. "You know how that made you feel".
"This is good magic though. It's supposed to help. How can that be a bad thing?" Henry turned back to Emma, but made no move to escape the hand Regina had on his shoulder. "I thought if I could prove that he was your true love, you wouldn't be so scared to give my dad another chance."
"Henry, I don't need anything or anyone other than myself, deciding who I should love." Emma was careful to keep the anger she was feeling from bleeding into her voice. "Using magic in that way would take away my choice, since it's basically telling me who my true love is, without any input from me. I've had enough of other people making decisions for me and using fate as an excuse to dictate my life." She took a deep breath. The room suddenly seemed too small and she wanted out. "Look, I need some air. Regina, you good to keep Henry for a bit?" It was Emma's night with Henry and they were always especially careful to ask permission with any handovers to the other parent.
"Of course." Regina nodded, placing both her hands on Henry's shoulders. Tiny little lines were crinkling the corner of her eyes, the concern in them clearly evident. The fact that that concern was for her, was yet another thing putting Emma off balance.
"Ok". Emma ducked her head and turned away, intent on finding the nearest exit.
Henry's brow furrowed in confusion as he looked up at Regina. "I don't understand. Why wouldn't she want to know for sure who her true love is?"
Regina's eyes were focused on the door that Emma had disappeared through. The big vein on her forehead was clearly visible, which meant she was upset about something. Instead of answering his question though, she asked one of her own. "Henry, why are you so certain that Neal is Emma's true love?"
"One of the reasons Pan wanted me, was because my parents share true love. It was all written in a prophecy".
"A prophecy?"
"Yes, about the truest believer. Pan knew about me, from even before I was born. He even had a sketch of what I looked like. I'm meant to be a combination of the dark and light magic from my parents, and they're each other's true love". Henry wondered why his mom suddenly looked sad and defeated. He went over his last few words and winced when he realized that he had referred to Emma and Neal as his parents. He knew she was extra sensitive about stuff like that.
"Henry, regardless of this prophecy, there are some things that people like to figure out for themselves." Regina smoothed out his hair. "You need to let Emma and Neal work things out on their own.
Henry sighed. He still didn't get why Emma was so upset, but decided to let it go for now. "Ok mom. I just wanted to help".
"I know". Regina smiled down at him, but her eyes remained sad.
Henry turned and wrapped his arms around her middle, hugging her tightly. Regina didn't hesitate to return the hug, squeezing back just as hard. Henry closed his eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of warmth and safety that washed over him.
Emma stood at the window of an empty office overlooking the front steps of the town hall. She was starting to regret taking her heels off, as the cold from the floor was slowly seeping through her stockings. The heating wasn't turned on in the room, and Emma was definitely starting to feel it. Her coat was keeping the rest of her warm enough, but she found herself wishing for gloves as she rubbed irritably at her right hand. It had gone numb, and the tingling was spreading down her wrist.
Her thoughts once again drifted back to Henry. She couldn't believe what he'd had tried to do. Did he really want Neal and her together that desperately, that he would resort to using magic? It was bad enough that Mary Margaret kept pushing her towards Neal, even after she'd made it clear that she wasn't interested. Emma was actually starting to wonder if there was something else behind Mary Margaret's insistence that she give Neal another chance. Maybe she was embarrassed by Emma. Princesses don't usually have children out of wedlock after all, and they definitely don't end up sharing their son with the Evil Queen.
Emma sighed. Regina was on a whole other level of complicated. They had come to an understanding after the events in Neverland, where they both acknowledged the importance of the other in Henry's life. Sure, Regina could still be absolutely infuriating at times, especially when she was feeling threatened, but Emma felt an odd sense of normality with her. Regina never ever treated her as anything other than Emma Swan. She didn't have to put on the mantle of Saviour around her and it was surprisingly freeing. Recently though, things had started to shift between them. She had found herself increasingly caught up in brown eyes, that were filled with something Emma wasn't quite ready to acknowledge yet. If Henry was right about who her true love was though, she never ever would. She sucked in a breath at the sheer anguish that flooded her chest at the thought.
"Is the view really that riveting, or is there something else keeping you here?"
Emma jumped and spun around in surprise as Regina stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her. Her heels clicked loudly on the hardwood floor and Emma realized that she must have really been out of it if she hadn't heard her approach.
"Henry was starting to worry that something terrible had befallen you." Regina continued talking, unaware of how off balance Emma was feeling. She flicked on the light switch, and Emma winced at the sudden brightness.
"I'm starting to think he might be right". She glanced disdainfully at Emma's shoeless state, but obvious concern was crinkling the corners of her eyes again. Ok maybe she wasn't so unaware after all.
Emma gathered her heels up and fumbled with getting them back on her feet. She kept her head bent, using the action to rebuild her defences. "I just needed a couple of minutes. I'm fine now".
"You were standing shoeless, in the dark, in an unheated room. That's hardly indicative of someone who is fine, as you put it".
Emma responded with a tried and true distraction. "Where's Henry?"
"He's with your parents". Regina stopped a couple of feet away from her. She had both hands in the pockets of her black trench coat, and was obviously feeling the cold. "Henry insisted that I find you. You've been gone for the better part of an hour."
An hour? Had it really been that long? Emma was careful to keep the surprise off her face. She straightened to her full height, having finally gotten both her shoes back on. "Well as you can see, I'm.."
"Fine." Regina finished for her and this time she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I believe we've already covered why your behaviour doesn't match that description."
Emma felt cornered, and lashed out before she could stop herself. "Look Regina, even if I wasn't fine, which I totally am by the way, you'd be the last person I would ever admit any weakness to". Emma instantly regretted her words as she saw hurt fill brown eyes, before Regina's mask slammed down.
"Be that as it may, Ms Swan, it's not me that you need to reassure, it's Henry. Your inclination to run whenever circumstances prove too much for you, is well known after all." Regina spun on her heel towards the door, silky dark hair performing a perfect flip.
Shit. Emma hadn't meant to hurt the other woman. "Regina no wait, please." She rushed after her and grabbed Regina's wrist, intent on stopping her from opening the door. A strange shock jolted up the arm she was touching Regina with. It felt like she'd knocked her funny bone against something, but about a hundred times worse. Emma had to grit her teeth in order to suppress a groan at the pain.
"Unhand me, Ms Swan". Regina said in a low dangerous growl.
Emma instantly let go of her and staggered back a few steps, clutching at her arm. "Jesus Regina, you didn't have to use magic on me". The pain wasn't showing any signs of stopping, if anything it was intensifying. "You can stop now, you know".
"Ms. Swan, I would think very carefully before making false accusations against me." Regina whirled around to face her, eyes blazing with hurt and fury. "We all know how well that ended the last time".
"Regina, I'm not kidding here." Emma was starting to feel lightheaded from the agony flaring along her arm. "Please, stop". She rotated her wrist upwards, hoping to ease the pain.
"What the hell is that?" The shock in Regina's voice made Emma look down at her hand. The veins on her palm were heavily distended and were glowing a strange pink colour, like someone had injected them with radioactive Kool-Aid. Each vein was clearly visible, creating a spiderweb of pink lines that spread all the way down her wrist and disappeared under her coat sleeve.
Cool fingers were suddenly holding her hand in a gentle grip. Emma hadn't even seen Regina move. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" Emma said. She hunched over as a new wave of pain spread across her shoulders. Her head started to throb in time with her heartbeat. If Regina hadn't used magic on her, then there was something else going on.
Regina's other hand moved to her jaw and tilted it, exposing Emma's neck. Her sharp intake of breath was definitely not a good sign. "Whatever it is, it appears to be spreading rapidly". Those same soft fingers traced along Emma's neck and lower jaw.
"Do you remember coming into contact with anything magical today?"
"You mean aside from you, the fairy dust floating all over the place, and the many other...," Emma broke off and clutched at her head. It felt like someone was poking a hot poker into her eyelids. She barely noticed that she was leaning heavily against soft curves, as the edges of the room started to blur. "Regina, I think I need to sit down".
"Ms. Swan! Don't you dare pass out on me." Regina's voice seemed to be coming from far away. "Emma!" The fear in Regina's voice was the last thing Emma registered, before everything faded away.
TBC
Happy New Year. Yeah it's been a while and I meant to get this done by Xmas, but circumstances and all that. The good news is that my thesis is due at the end of February, so that means I will hopefully have bit more time to dedicate to writing after that. The bad news is that my thesis is due at the end of February. I needed a break though, so I've set aside a couple of days for this story. I also really wasn't impressed with how the whole Robin Hood thing went down, and wanted to explore what the concept of choice meant for Emma and Regina.
Also sorry for the reupload. I couldn't find the story when I first uploaded it, so ended up deleting it and reuploading. It also gave me a chance to change some stuff around that I wasn't happy with. Ah the joys of not having a beta.
Reviews are much appreciated as per usual :)