Regina is the first to notice it, and as usual, the refined queen isn't afraid to tell it like it is. One evening, maybe two weeks after the lucky return of them all from the Underworld, Mary Margaret and David drive over to the Mayor's mansion to drop off Henry for the weekend, and while they exchange a few words, the street lamps flicker with a buzzing sound.
Regina growls. "I swear if she does any harm to my town's power supply system, I'm gonna discount it from her sheriff salary."
Mary Margaret frowns in question along with her husband. "What? You mean Emma?" she inquires.
"Of course," Regina confirms. "I really hope these lovely side effects wear off after a few weeks."
Mary Margaret has no clue what she's talking about; months earlier, she wouldn't have been surprised at Regina's accusation, but the former Evil Queen has mostly let go of her habit to blame Emma for everything that seems to go wrong. "Side effects of what?" she asks.
Her stepmother shrugs. "Well, you saw what happened when she kissed the pirate after he fully transformed back to his annoying old self again?"
David is obviously absolutely clueless. "What does that have to do with flickering street lights?"
Mary Margaret frowns again, ignoring him. "You think, Regina? The lights flicker every time they kiss?"
Regina rolls her eyes. "No, Mary Margaret," she contradicts impatiently, "I don't think a kiss alone does the trick."
"Oh..." When it dawns on her, Mary Margaret nods slowly, a little knowing grin blooming on her face, much to Regina's surprise.
David looks to and fro between them, his expression showing clearly that he has not the slightest clue about what the women are talking about. "What does that mean?" he asks.
Regina can't say she's surprised; she knows David isn't stupid, but in some things he's always been a little slow on the uptake. She shakes her head. "How you got your wife pregnant twice is inexplicable to me."
Mary Margaret giggles sheepishly, and Henry crinkles his nose. "Mom, ewww!"
David is getting a bit annoyed now, as obviously everybody knows what the fuss is about – except for him. "What are you even..." But he interrupts himself as it finally dawns on him, and his jaw drops when he understands what Regina and Mary Margaret are insinuating. "Are you saying it means they are..." He purses his lips in a disgusted way.
His wife shrugs. "What do you expect, David?" It's a rhetorical question. "They are madly in love with each other, and you of all people should know..."
Henry moans desperately. "Really, grandma? Gross!"
"You better go inside," Regina tells him curtly, and the boy obliges only all too eagerly.
David turns to Mary Margaret, clearly upset now. "That is not the point here!"
She rolls her eyes. He's just so uptight sometimes. "Then what is?" she wants to know. "I mean, there's nothing we can do about it now, right?" Just to make sure she turns to Regina. "Or is there?"
The former Evil Queen sways her head from one side to the other, pretending to consider her words. "Except for sending him back to the..."
"Regina!" Mary Margaret scolds.
"Just kidding," she waves her off, "don't worry. We'll just wait until it wears off."
David grumbles. "And until then I'm supposed to endure..."
Mary Margaret is almost sorry for him and laces her arm through his soothingly. "Let's go home."
The next day at lunch break David and Emma enter Granny's and sit down at their favorite table. Even though everybody has told her to take some time off and just settle back in for good, Emma insisted on going right back to as normal as possible after their return from the Underworld, sheriff job included. David is maybe the one who understands her the most – he can remember the time when, almost immediately after the first curse was broken, he lost his wife and daughter when they fell through a portal and he had to stay back in Storybrooke. Back then, it was a great help for him that he just kept doing normal things like taking care of Henry and performing sheriff duties. Emma is obviously searching for that same stability in her life now – by getting back to the ordinary part of her life in Storybrooke, she's able to settle back in and find her place and comfort more easily.
"Oh, by the way," she tells him, "I got three more calls about power failures over the last days. Why are they calling the sheriff?" She grins cheekily. "Let Regina have the fun. That's Mayor's business."
David throws his daughter a furtive glance, but it's clear that she's just delighting in the thought of causing Regina some not so serious distress. The mischief glinting in her eyes is absolutely innocent; she has no clue why the power failures might be a somewhat delicate subject. He shrugs uneasily. "Yeah, well, I guess..."
He's interrupted by Granny coming to take the order – and putting a big paper bag on the table in front of Emma. "And here's yours to go."
He frowns. "You're not staying?"
Emma gets up and grabs the paper bag, grinning sheepishly. "No, I'm going to the docks," she replies and adds unnecessarily: "Killian's on his ship. You know, checking everything's okay for our little weekend trip." David narrows his eyes a little, he just can't help it, and she beams. "I just want to... you know... make sure he's safe."
Well, what is he supposed to say to that? When she grabs the paper bag she smiles, her almost dreamy expression showing she's already somewhere else. Grumpily, he watches her leave. About twenty minutes later, when he's munching on his lunch, the jukebox goes out with a pang and the lights above the counter flicker. He closes his eyes and lets out a little annoyed growl without being aware of it. The only good thing about this is that obviously nobody else seems to pay attention, at least no one's commenting on the buzzing and flickering lights.
When he pays his bill, he grumbles: "There's something wrong with your fuses."
"Not with mine," Granny replies dryly, and when his head snaps up he sees her giving him that look over the rims of her glasses, like she knows everything. Well, this is great.
When Emma comes back from her lunch break a little late she looks very relaxed and just utterly in love. Even though David is annoyed by the fact that he knows what has been going on and he just doesn't want to know, he softens when he looks at his beloved baby girl smiling so openly with stars in her eyes and being so obviously and unabashedly happy – and how could he be annoyed at that? He sighs in defeat and swears to himself he'll deal with it.
Two days later, on Friday evening, they all meet for a family dinner at Granny's – it's kind of an established habit now for them to meet for a family dinner at least once a week. Weird enough, but it seems like their latest adventure, their trip to the Underworld, has brought this unorthodox example of a family even closer together; and what's even weirder: those dinners don't suck. Today, Emma and Killian have excused themselves – they are planning a weekend sailing trip, a much-needed and well-deserved escape just for the two of them, and are getting the ship ready to set sails early on Saturday morning.
The lights of the diner and also those on the street outside flicker again while Granny is taking orders; unusual enough for her, she doesn't comment on it, but she purses her lips in stern disapproval, and when she turns around, she grumbles not too quietly: "They're going at it like rabbits, dammit."
David flinches at her words, and little Roland turns innocently to his father, his brow furrowed in earnest curiosity, and wants to know. "What does that mean, they're going at it like..."
Robin grimaces a little. "Uh... that's sort of a game for adults, baby."
The boy flashes his adorable dimples, obviously satisfied with the explanation – and endeared by the fact that adults delight in games, too. "Aw. Do you play it too, daddy?" Robin's jaw drops, and he throws a glance at Regina, seeking help. For a moment, they're both at a loss for words, which means something, especially for Regina.
Henry looks like he's in pain (and he kind of is) before he jumps in to the rescue. "Come on, Roland, let's go outside and play seek and hide," he suggests, "that's much cooler." Regina and Robin both smile at him in grateful relief when the smaller boy immediately forgets about any adult's play as his idol and kind of adopted big brother Henry takes him outside until the food is served.
Later, the usual chit chat is going on, the family meal only interrupted by the occasional random dwarf dropping by and saying hi. After they've finished eating, Robin, Henry and Roland take on a little dart game in the back of the room where Robin does his best not to destroy the boys completely, while the others are finishing their dessert.
When the lights flicker again, Regina loses her patience and growls with slight annoyance in her voice: "You've got to be kidding me."
The lights give another buzz, and among the other guests there are murmurs and some snorts (the latter especially from the dwarves). Only after David throws a few menacing glances randomly into the room, everybody quiets down again. Unnerved, he leans a little forward towards Regina and huffs in exasperation: "Can't you do anything about it?"
Slowly, the former Evil Queen turns her head to him and gives him her best regal glare. "And what pray tell am I supposed to..."
He gesticulates impatiently. "Well, apparently you're the one with magic here! Don't you have experience with that kind of thing? Didn't you ever..."
"Hold your horses, Charming!" she interrupts sharply. "That is none of your business. Anyway, I can't do anything!" she assures. "Your daughter has powerful magic, and she needs to learn to control it better."
Mary Margaret frowns. "Wait, are you saying she needs to... hold back?" she inquires and waves her hand. "While..."
David looks like he's going to throw up, and Regina quickly holds up a hand to interrupt. "No. Not... while," she clarifies. "But if she learns to control her magic in general, it will be less likely to... go off randomly." She shrugs. "Bye bye blown fuses."
"That would be great," David grumbles and nods gravely. "It's settled then."
Mary Margaret turns to him with curiosity in her eyes. "What do you mean, it's settled?"
He looks at his wife with just about the same amount of surprise as to how she can't see what's obvious to him. "Regina gives her lessons again."
Mary Margaret tilts her head. "Oh really?" she asks in that voice with that tad of incredulous sarcasm that has both annoyed and attracted him from the day they met. "And what exactly are we gonna tell our daughter, that she needs to learn to control her magic better because she accidentally blows Storybrooke's fuses every time she and Killian..."
David crinkles his nose in disgust and holds up a hand to stop her. "Don't say it."
She rolls her eyes, then shakes her head, a determined gesture. "We can't do that, David," she tells him firmly. "Emma isn't aware of it, and we can't... I mean, she's finally let down her walls and..." Se interrupts herself and shakes her head even more fervently. "We can't."
He throws up his hands in exasperation. "We can't risk either that people keep snickering about it, and she gets to know it eventually!" He turns to Regina. "Am I right?"
Before the former Evil Queen can reply, Mary Margaret addresses her as well. "What will happen if she doesn't exercise?" she wants to know.
Regina can't help to feel a little bit of wicked amusement and lets out her sass – these days that's all she does to keep up at least a bit of her reputation. "I'm not under the impression that not exercising is the problem..."
"Her magic!" her stepdaughter snaps.
She sighs and replies in an untypically soothing voice (because she remembers ruefully that the Charmings' predicament is her son's as well): "The more she uses it, the better she'll handle it. It's just a matter of practice, even if she doesn't aim at gaining more control. It will happen all by itself."
David shoots her an incredulous look. "So we'll just have to wait until it gets better?" he complains.
"Until what gets better?" Emma's voice has them all jump in their seats, and they whirl around to find that she and Killian have entered the diner and approached their table.
"Uhm... Roland's – ah – toothache," Regina quickly lies. "He complained a bit today, and Robin is a little prickly about letting me use magic to heal him." She gets up from her seat, aware that she started rambling and eager to get away from Emma's observant eyes – and her lie-detecting super power. "Which is why we're taking them home now."
Emma frowns. "Ouch, poor kid..." She motions her hand between herself and Killian. "I'm sorry we didn't make it sooner, but..."
"Oh, trust me," Regina interrupts, "it was like you were with us all the time." Emma narrows her eyes and tilts her head in question at the undertone whereas Killian raises an eyebrow, but Regina adds smoothly: "Have a nice trip you two, and try to stay out of trouble."
While Emma and Killian exchange a confused glance (and Mary Margaret shoots her husband a warning one) Regina collects her boys and makes sure to usher Roland out before anyone can ask him about his toothache. Robin greets them while he passes by, throwing a little mischievous wink Killian's way, and Henry stops for a moment to hug his mother.
"Come back safely," he says, and Emma smiles fondly.
"I parted on good terms with Ursula and her father," Killian comments and nods. "Don't worry, I'll bring your mom back safely."
"Yeah, well," Henry replies and gives that little smile, "I meant both of you." Mary Margaret smiles at her grandson's sign of fondness towards Killian, and the boy adds with a shrug: "Just... just don't get killed, okay?"
And with that, he turns around and follows his other mom and their patchwork family while Killian averts his eyes for a moment and smiles that embarrassed little smile to himself that is his way of dealing with unexpected displays of affection from other people than Emma; he's still not used to being part of a loving family and being acknowledged and appreciated as such. And he's still not sure how he even deserves all of that.
Emma's superpower tells her that there was something else behind Regina's quick departure, but decides to let it slip – it's not her business to know and worry about everything, she's slowly getting the hang of that. Killian touches his hand lightly to the small of her back and tilts her head towards the bench in his trademark hint of a bow, and Mary Margaret can't help but smile at his always gentlemanly manner that could come off as old-fashioned with anyone else but fits so well with Killian, as well as her own husband.
Emma slides into the booth and sits opposite her father, Killian following her. He doesn't move closer to her than it's appropriate in public and nods his greetings to David and Mary Margaret. When Emma starts to talk to her mother, he brushes his knuckles gently across the back of her left hand in a casual caress before he reaches for the menu, and almost as a reflex a smile curves her lips; all it takes to make her smile and at ease is something like that simple, natural gesture. David observes the interaction the couple isn't even aware of and sighs deeply in defeat. He can't find it himself to be annoyed at his mate, even though he knows... well, what he knows.
"So, did you get the ship... seaworthy?" Mary Margaret asks with a smile, and Killian raises his eyebrows in amused approval of her attempt at nautical language.
"Absolutely," he replies and tilts his head in a little nod, "ready and waiting."
She frowns a little in motherly worry. "Are you sure you'll be okay with just the two of you sailing such a big ship?"
"Mom," Emma huffs a little, "it's not like we're planning to cruise around Cape Horn. Or Neverland." She throws Killian a sideways grin and adds: "Besides, Killian's a hell of a Captain."
David flares his nostrils a little and presses his lips together whereas Killian averts his eyes for a moment and sways his head a little at Emma. "It's definitely manageable," he then emphasizes towards her mother, "and I can assure you we'll be perfectly safe, Milady." Mary Margaret's mouth twitches at his address. "I shall take good care of your daughter."
At that, David makes a strange little noise deep in his throat, even though there wasn't the slightest lewd undertone in Killian's voice. Mary Margaret kicks him under the table to silence him just in case and replies quickly: "I trust you will, Killian." With a smile she adds: "You know, you could call me Mary Margaret by now. I mean, we're..." She sways her dark head as elegantly as meaningfully and lets the sentence hang unfinished in the air, but the intention is clear. Family. She doesn't have to say it.
Killian grins, and it's one of those embarrassed smiles that used to look so odd at first on the cocky pirate, but became a more and more familiar sight on their friend and soon-to-be son-in-law. He averts his eyes for a moment before he replies: "I know. But I like Milady." He tilts his head and his eyes glitter with tease when he goes on, "It suits you."
Mary Margaret's eyes twinkle with humor. She knows it's not an address used to keep some kind of distance; on the contrary, it's his way of fondly teasing about their rocky start, just like she does when she calls him pirate sometimes. It's their thing. Oddly enough, they have such a thing. "Then be my guest," she comments.
Emma smiles at the exchange and leans a little to the side to put her head on his shoulder, sitting close enough to fit it snugly into the crook of his neck. It's a very intimate, yet very innocent and natural gesture, and it warms Mary Margaret's heart to the bottom that her once so guarded, closed off daughter is open enough for such a display of love and tenderness.
"We should go for a cruise in the summer, the whole family," Emma suggests eagerly, and her mother's heart aches even more sweetly.
"Anything you wish, love," Killian replies nonchalantly, and those words would have sounded bumptious and exaggerated from anybody else, but not from him. He turns his head and presses a kiss on the top of her head while he rests his hand lightly on her back. "If your father promises to stay away from the helm."
David snorts and throws his mate a playfully murderous look to which everyone's laughing. He has been watching them closely and quietly, not knowing that he has the same thoughts as Mary Margaret. He too still remembers the heartbroken and distrustful, disillusioned woman he met... it always amazes him to realize how far his little lost girl has come, and he isn't going to delude himself – Killian Jones might not be the only reason for that, but a big part of the credits for the development of Emma Swan goes to the former pirate. He has watched his quiet, persistent courtship for more than two years now, and even if at times it looked as if there would be no outcome for him in the end, Killian has always stayed loyal to Emma and always, always had her back, even when her own parents failed her. There have been times, not even too long ago, when he cringed at the unmistakable signs of Emma's attraction to the man he still calls Hook most times, but he admits to himself that Killian Jones is probably the best thing after her son that ever could have happened to Emma. She surely could have picked a more appropriate, a less flawed man... but he knows she couldn't have picked a better one. David supposes dealing with a few more blown fuses is a small price to pay.
From outside, Regina is watching the scene through the huge glass window while Roland is endlessly fussing and Henry has difficulties fixing his belt.
The entrance door is thrown open, and two of the munchkins – Leroy and one of those whose stupid names she can never remember – exit the diner. They walk over to Leroy's battered pickup, and she can hear them snicker. "At least as long as they're at Granny's, the power supply is safe," says the shorter one.
"Yeah," Leroy agrees, "we're lucky the pirate's got only one hand... otherwise we'd already be on candle light by now."
Regina purses her lips in annoyance and with a flick of her wrist causes Leroy's car key to break in the hole of the driver door, grinning to herself at the curses.
"Are you coming, mom?" Henry calls, and she throws one last glance through the window just in the moment when guyliner kisses Emma's head, and she can't believe that this woman, open to love and family, is the same she met years ago. But then, she isn't the same person either, and even if for her it hasn't been a pirate but a thief who opened her heart to love again, she understands how fundamentally her former enemy has changed and how much happier she is now. She'll be damned if she allows the citizens of Storybrooke to make fun of her son's other mother and her pirate – they're family, after all.
"Robin will drive," she calls back with a smile (he has been a surprisingly good student and can handle her car alone already), "I have something I need to do."
Neither of her boys presses for an explanation – maybe they have an inkling of what she's up to anyway – and the blink of an eye and a little poofing magic later, she finds herself in the power station. In less than five minutes the plant is protected and fortified against any magical supernovas that might occur.
A few days later, Mary Margaret picks Henry up at Regina's and takes him to school with her.
"Seems like the electricity problem's fixed," she remarks while she's waiting for her grandson to pick up his book bag.
"Told you it was only a matter of time," Regina comments. "Looks like the pirate's magic's wearing off."
Mary Margaret crosses her arms and grins mischievously. "Yeah, either that – or someone fixed the power plant." She leans a little forward and throws her step mother a challenging glance. "Judging by the smitten looks Emma gives him, I think the latter is more probable."
Regina doesn't even try to deny anything. "I just like it when things in my town are running smoothly," she replies dryly.
"Oh, please." Mary Margaret waves her off. "You are a romantic at heart." She winks at the other woman. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."
Regina closes her eyes in horror. "Oh God."