AN: Post Season 4B, post Dark Swan, Swan Queen.

An Unexpected Guest

No one had anticipated that they would ever see Merlin again. They were all happy enough being entrenched back in their lives in the sleepy small Maine town of Storybrooke. Emma had run for sheriff again and won. Regina had gifted her with a luxurious brown leather jacket with the words 'Sheriff' stitched in black and gold on the right breast and with a departmental shoulder patch. She was wearing it the day she stepped out for coffee and saw Merlin casually strolling down the road with staff in hand.

"Greetings, Emma!" he waved, the cool harbor breeze ruffling his sandy blonde hair.

"M? What are you...come over here, don't walk in the road." She gestured hurriedly at him.

He stepped over to her quickly, hoping up onto the sidewalk and grinning as he did so.

"I have come for a visit," he smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners with undisguised mirth.

"You can do that?" she asked incredulously, still picking her jaw up off the floor.

"Of course. I am me after all. What a lovely doublet you are wearing. You are sheriff here?" He took a moment to glance around the seaport town. The sun was out and the spring had brought out green everywhere. The white clock tower seemed to shine and he nodded appreciatively.

"I am. Regina got me the jacket."

"The queen has good taste." He looked back at her. "Do I not warrant some greeting? A hug or clasp of the shoulder?"

"Yes, of course. I'm just getting over my surprise," she smiled. She threw her arms around the neck of the man who saved her from the Dark One. "Welcome to Storybrooke."

He laughed and hugged her back. "Thank you. I can't wait to see your little town. But first, buy a weary traveler a pint?" he winked.

She grinned. "You bet. We have our own micro-brewery now, I can't wait to see what you think."

"I'm not sure I understood most of that last sentence but if they serve ale then I will be a happy man."

The Sheriff and the Sorcerer Walk Into a Bar

Only in Storybrooke could someone dressed like a participant from a Renaissance fair not raise an eyebrow. Once he set his staff aside and removed his cloak Merlin didn't look too out of place. He wore an off white cotton tunic laced up the front and brown leather pants. He sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender of the Oak & Barrel as Emma tried to discretely make 'Oh my god, guess who is here' phone calls discretely by the ladies room before joining him at the bar.

The Oak & Barrel was a proper pub; bad lighting, crappy jukebox, and a dark wooden bar and tables. It wasn't long before word got around town and visitors began to drop by, and soon David and Snow arrived. Snow threw her arms around him when she saw him as did David. Emma had never seen her father hug another man and found herself tickled by the sight. Merlin did that to people, he was a hugger.

He asked after Neal and Henry, the former whom he had never met. Snow regaled him excitedly of first steps and insisted he come over later to meet the young Charming.

"Stay with us," she insisted. "Emma can stay at Regina's."

"Mom!" she exclaimed, twisting around on her barstool to shoot her a glare.

"She's got the room," she shrugged. "We're keeping him to ourselves."

Emma was introducing Merlin to the glory that was fries in gravy when the Mayor finally made her appearance.

The front door swung open forcefully, assaulting them all with a blast of unwanted sunlight. Silhouetted against the glare was the Mayor in full on black power suit.

The Charmings collectively gulped, anticipating an ass chewing on anything from leaving work early to day drinking. Mercifully, she allowed the doors to close behind her, leaving their forcing their eyes to readjust abruptly to the lower light.

Merlin set his glass down and stood. "Regina!" He smiled, and held out his arms to her.

She shook her head and sighed, her dark hair catching the light. "You crazy magician. What in the seven hells are you doing here?" She gave him a hug and he held her to him tightly. They stood still in that position for a moment longer than seemed normal and Emma found herself paying closer attention.

When they parted the jovial smile had left Merlin's countenance and he looked serious.

"You know," he said quietly. "I cannot help the things I see sometimes. That was...overwhelming." He quickly looked around to ensure it was only the Charming clan close by. He took Emma's hand, who was sitting on the stool next to him and then took Regina's hand.

"My dears, I am so sorry for your loss. It was incredibly painful. There's no guilt here, those things occur commonly. It's amazing it even happened. Take comfort in that."

Emma felt a tear slide down her cheek, and quickly looked to Regina, who was crumbling quickly. Her brow furrowed and a sob escaped. "Thank you," she choked out. It was the first time outside of the hospital that someone had said those simple words: I'm sorry.

Emma was on her feet and wrapping Regina in her arms. The brunette dropped her head to her shoulder and let out a few wrenching sobs before collecting herself.

"Can I get you some water or something?" Emma asked, rubbing her back.

"I need a drink. I'm sure I will regret this but since you're more familiar with this place...you order me something."

"Tears to insults. That's a good sign...I guess. The red barn ale is great, you'll love it." Emma waved over the bartender and Regina turned to look at a shell shocked Snow and David.

"Regina are you...ok?" Snow asked hesitantly. She had no idea what was going on and was scared to push Regina too hard. Whatever it was Emma was obviously involved but she was busying herself with ordering Regina's ale.

Regina sat down at the bar with a sigh. David sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm getting there. Maybe it's time. We'll talk later, I promise." She took the drink an eager Emma was holding out to her.

They made a toast to their visitor and despite his concerns there were no magical side effects.

Tell Them There's Pie

After dinner they decided to gather at Regina's. Henry was babysitting his uncle at the apartment so the adults could go and talk. David and Snow discussed the incident in the pub as they drove through the quiet streets of Storybrooke.

"I can't imagine what it could be, but I could probably count on one hand how many times I've seen Regina that upset. Emma was doing her tough chic routine but..."

"I know," He fiddled with the gearshift to give himself an outlet for his nervous energy. "I think it has something to do with whatever happened a couple of months ago at the hospital. Everything changed after that. Emma practically drop kicked Killian-no explanation. She's been tight lipped about everything that happened that week." He stayed focused on the road but Snow could see his jaw clench just a bit.

Snow covered his hand that was resting on the gearshift with her own. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it."

He nodded and pulled the truck into the driveway of the mayor's house.

Emma and Regina were having their own vehicle based conversation as they made their way to the house. They were in the black Mercedes with Regina at the wheel. She was boycotting rides in the bug but Emma was sure it was a phase that would pass because the bug was far too charming to resist.

"Are you comfortable with this? I mean, we could just talk to Merlin alone. No need for a larger audience." Emma said. Her brow was furrowed and she looked like she was worrying over something.

"I'd rather just...I don't want to feel like I'm keeping some secret anymore."

"It's not a secret. We just needed...time I guess. There's no guidebook on how to deal with this. Story of my life since coming here," she stated quietly. She looked out the window and saw a few stray drops of rain splash against the window.

"Worst case scenario: we'll stuff their faces with pie if they get too obnoxious."

A little light shined in Emma's eyes and they slid over to Regina. "There's gonna be pie? Please tell me it's not apple."

"It's apple," Regina confirmed.

"That's just tacky."

Regina let out an exasperated sigh and gestured in a frustrated manner with her free hand. "I have an apple tree, what am I supposed to do?"

Merlin was waiting, having transported himself directly to the front door. They all went inside and headed towards the kitchen. Wine was poured and pie was served. They found their way to the dining table and sat down. Merlin was across the round table from Emma and Regina, and the Charmings sat to either side of them.

"We're going to tell you everything that happened because I hope you can make some sense of it. I need to understand. I think I have some idea what happened, but I don't feel I have the whole picture," Regina said carefully.

David leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Obviously M knows but can you bring Snow and I up to speed? What happened?"

Regina pursed her lips and when Emma saw her hesitate she took the lead.

"Regina had a miscarriage. The baby was mine...ours." Emma voice was solid, no wavering. She even jutted her chin out a bit. She was being the strong one and she was trying to convey that in her tone. She was ready for whatever came her way, including the two wide eyed Charmings in front of her who seemed frozen in their chairs.

TBC...