I don't own these characters; Disney/ABC does. Well, except for Nathan and Odette. Those are mine.
A/N: this is a short visit back into the Right Here series. It's set a few years after Always Here. A nice little check back in on the Swan-Mills family. In order to know what's going on here, you might want to read Right Here and Always Here, if only to know who the children are. Beyond that, enjoy the little domestic scene and family bonding.
Thanks to my beta, Kylie.
Stay Here
1: Egg and Spoon
Emma grabbed her sandwich and rushed to the front of the house as she heard the front door open. She could feel Regina was home, which meant her Duckling was home. Everyone had been out, giving her a morning and afternoon to herself. She appreciated the alone time, but she missed the noise of the family. It was hard to deal with quiet when she lived with a five-year-old and a four-year-old, who both yelled everything at the top of their lungs and stomped everywhere they went. She could see why Regina used to complain about her "clomping."
"Nathan, shoes!" Regina called as she closed the door.
Emma could hear the stomping back to the door more than she could see Nathan. She never realized how short five-year-olds were until Nathan turned five. He was tiny, which made her realize how tiny Odette was because she was smaller than he was. Yet somehow these short people always managed to get cookies they were not supposed to have or spill the cereal off the counter or manage to find the snacks that were on shelves that she could barely reach. Regina was certain it was magic. Emma thought they had two engineers on their hands. Maybe they were both right.
"Roland doesn't have to take off his shoes!" Nathan kicked his shoes off, watching them bang into the wall. Well, his mood was certainly unexpected. What happened with his visit to one of his favorite people, Roland?
"Roland most certainly does have to take his shoes off. You think his Mama lets him track dirt in her pristine house?" Regina replied.
Nathan actually glared at Regina, brown eyes almost identical to Regina's, giving her a look almost identical to hers when she was angry. Emma would have laughed if only her Duckling was not so obviously upset. His chubby features twisted in a frown as he marched to the couch and slammed his little book bag, which was shaped like Pikachu as he was oddly into Pokémon, on to the cushions. He was looking to get scolded by his mom again, apparently.
"Young man, you may be upset, but you have no right to abuse the furniture, as you know," Regina said.
Nathan did not say anything, just scowled at the couch, all too aware he was one bad move from being on timeout. Emma decided to step in and save the poor kid. She eased down next to him, putting her sandwich on the coffee table.
"Hey, Duck, what's going on? What's up with your beak?" Emma tapped the corner of his mouth. He glowered even harder as Regina sat down on the opposite end. Emma looked over at Regina.
"Roland upset him," Regina replied, tone clipped, as if she had enough of this behavior on the ride home.
"Roland didn't upset me!" Nathan poked his lip out. Roland was one of his favorite people, so he would never let anyone, not even his mothers say anything bad about him, even when Roland was being a little mischievous because, well, he was ten. Emma thought ten was the age kids started doing crazy things, like searching for birth mothers, stealing credit cards, and hopping on buses out of state. Roland had not done any of that yet, but he had used his mother's Tai Chi lessons to chase away older bullies on more than one occasion and he liked carrying around his sword, even though he was not supposed to. Thankfully, it was made of wood.
"I'm sorry. Perhaps I upset you," Regina said, her voice dropping a bit. Her eyes were wet. Emma was not sure what was going on, but something big happened.
Nathan gasped and turned to her. "No, Mom. It's not you. I just… I don't understand!" He made two tight fists and hit the sofa with them.
"What don't you understand, Duck?" Emma ran her hand through his wavy, dirty blond hair.
Nathan's scowl was back and he glared at his little yellow socks. "Roland said we couldn't hang out for long because he had to go see Dad."
"Okay." Emma would be upset if she had to see Robin Hood, too.
Regina shook her head and Emma winced. Apparently, it was not okay. Oh, god. Was this leading to what she thought it was? They thought they would have more time for this, more time to prepare and plan.
"I don't see Roland's dad much and it's usually really quick if he's in the park or something, so I asked him who his dad was," Nathan said.
"Uh-huh," Emma replied, eyes still on Regina.
"And he said his dad was my dad. 'Our dad.' That's what he said. 'Ours,' like we share him or something and then said I was silly for not knowing that. I'm not silly. I don't have a dad," Nathan said and he puffed out his cheeks. "I told him that and he still said I was silly. But, I'm not silly. I don't have a dad." Then he looked up, glancing between his mothers. "Right?" He needed reassurance because someone he trusted and thought was wise turned his world upside down. Now, he needed greater authorities to overturn that and set everything right again.
Regina looked at Emma with wide eyes, lost already. Emma smiled, hoping it set her wife at ease. She had this.
"Okay, Duck, time for real talk," Emma said. This was her way of letting their kids know everything she was about to say was totally serious. They always took it as the solid truth, even Henry, who was currently a college student. They always acted like Emma was giving them secrets of the universe and that was because she always made it seem like that. It was in those moments she realized how powerful parenting was and she wanted to give it her all, do her best. She could not fail these children in any way.
Nathan angled his body to her now. "Real talk? You sure?" His little forehead furrowed.
"Yeah. Gimme a second and stay right here. I need to get some stuff." Real talk tended to have props, as she wanted to make sure they understood exactly what she meant. Henry still resented her for using hand puppets to help him adjust to going away for college, never mind the fact that it worked.
Emma rushed off, going back to the kitchen. She grabbed a spoon and an egg, returning to the living room to see Nathan curled into Regina. Regina had not even taken her coat off, caressing his head, probably thinking about how he needed a haircut. She would fight that fight later, loving his wild and crazy hair. For now, she flopped back on the sofa, earning a sharp look from her wife. She ignored the look.
"Okay, bud. You ready for this?" Emma asked Nathan.
Nathan nodded and shifted again, so he was facing her, but still tucked against Regina. "Uh-huh."
"So, it boils down to this, everyone has a mother and a father, but not everyone has a mom and a dad. Okay?" Emma asked.
Nathan blinked those big brown eyes like a little owl. "There's a difference?"
"Yeah, there's a difference. So, remember when we saw the pictures of the dog that had puppies, but was also helping nurse a baby lamb?"
Nathan nodded and giggled. "It was cute and Odie squealed so loud when she saw it."
Emma chuckled. "She did." Odette was loud all the time and she loved the kid for it. Odette never could contain her excitement. "So, that dog was a mother because she had babies, but was also being a mom to her pups and that lamb."
"You can be both?"
"Yup. Now, this is where it's real talk. You ready?"
Nathan nodded eagerly. "Yeah."
"Do you know how a baby gets made?"
Nathan's eyes went wide again and he shook his head. "No, Mama."
"Okay, so I'm gonna tell you." Emma glanced at Regina as she made a strangled noise. Emma winked at her, hoping to keep her wife from having a stroke in front of their son. "To make a baby, you need an egg and a spoon." She held up her props.
Nathan narrowed his gaze on her. "You need an egg and a spoon?" He spoke slowly, like he needed her to hear the words to know how ridiculous she sounded.
"Yup. You put an egg and a spoon together and it makes a baby. The egg." She held it in front of his face. "The egg comes from the mother. And the father brings the spoon." She put the spoon next to the egg, very careful of both. Regina would not be happy if she cracked an egg on the couch.
His face scrunched up so adorably. "An egg and a spoon make a baby?" He squinted his eyes as he eyed both objects.
"Yeah, kid. You thought a stork bought 'em?" She held in a chuckle, just in case that was his belief. She did not want him to think she was mocking him.
He frowned. "Grandma said that."
She scoffed. "Yeah, but Grandma makes up a lot of stories to keep you guys entertained and laughing. Anyway, to make you, your mom had an egg."
Nathan rubbed his chin with one hand. "But, we need a spoon to make me, too."
Emma nodded. "That's right. The spoon came from Roland's dad. And, you got made."
"So, I do have a dad?"
Emma tilted her head to the side a little. "Not exactly, kid. A father gives up a spoon to make a baby, but that doesn't make him a dad." She held up the spoon. "I mean, if that was the case, the lamb who was with the puppies wouldn't have been with the mama dog, right?"
Nathan rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, the lamb should've been with other lambs because a dog can't make a lamb."
"Exactly. A dog cannot make a lamb, but that dog was still that lamb's mommy. Now, the lamb that made that baby lamb was a mother and a father, but not a mom and a dad."
Nathan nodded. "Okay, so what makes a dad? Cuz, Mom is my mom and she was my egg."
Emma chuckled again, glad he was following along as best he could. "She had your egg. You were her egg if anything." She held up the egg and put it near Regina's face. "But, yeah, your mom didn't become your mom because she had your egg. That makes her your mother. You see, when you have the egg, that makes you a mother and when you have the spoon, it makes you the father. But, remember I said there's a difference, right?"
"Right. Tell me the difference." Nathan leaned forward, hands pressed on Emma's thigh, digging into her leg.
Emma smiled a little. "So, a spoon and an egg make a baby, but that baby needs someone to raise it and take care of it because it's just a baby, right?"
Nathan nodded. "Because a baby is too small to do anything."
"Right and we saw that with the baby lamb and how the mama dog became her mama. The ones who take care of the baby and make sure the baby is okay, that's the mom and dad. Or in your case…" Emma waited for him to fill in the blank.
"My mommy and mama! You guys take care of me!" He pointed to both of them with a grin on his face and a light in his eyes. "Okay, but, Roland has a mama and a mom and a dad?"
Emma nodded. "Yes. You can have one, two, three, and even four parents who take care of you depending on your circumstances. So, you have two moms. But, your uncle has a mom and dad, right?"
"Yeah, he does. Grandma and Grandpa are funny."
Emma fought against rolling her eyes, never wanting to sour her children on her parents. "Yeah, that's one way to put it." She did not have any real problems with her parents, but to this day, they never failed to make a situation worse with little more than a few words. Thankfully, they were not here right now. "But, do you understand?"
Nathan put his pudgy finger to his chin. "Is it better to have a mom and a dad?"
"Did Roland say it was?" Emma asked, eyes wandering to Regina, who was at least out of her coat now. They might have to monitor his time with Roland if he was saying things like this.
Nathan shook his head. "No. But, in a lot of movies, there's always a mom and a dad… or just a dad. Is it better to have a dad?"
"Nathan, it's good to have people who take care of you and love you. Trust me on that. I grew up without people who loved me or took care of me."
His eyes went wide and he gasped. "But, Mom!" He pointed to Regina. "Us!" He pressed his little hands to his chest.
"This was before you or Odette or Henry or even Mom. I was alone for a long time when I was little. My mother had my egg and my dad had my spoon, but I was alone as a baby. I didn't even have a mama dog like that lamb."
Nathan clutched her leg and his bottom lip trembled. "How? You should've had a mama and a mommy and everything! You need a mommy. How did you tucked into bed? Who scared away the monsters in the closet? Who made your favorite sandwich?"
"No one. I didn't have anyone. So, I know it's best to have people who love and care about you. It doesn't matter if it's a mom, a dad, or whatever. It's just good to have people who care." Emma leaned down and kissed his messy crown.
Nathan leaned in, hugging Emma with all he was worth. "Why didn't Grandma and Grandpa take care of you? You was just a baby. Babies need mamas."
Emma smiled. He probably did not even realize he said "mamas." He always knew the right things to say to make people feel better and he had no clue he had this super power.
"I was separated from my mom and dad, so they couldn't take care of me. So, I started out with a mother and a father, but no mom and dad. They had to become my mom and dad later on," Emma said.
Nathan's forehead wrinkled and he stared at the floor. "I'm glad you and Mommy were my mamas from the start. If you make a baby, you should take care of it. That's why we can't have a puppy. We're not like the mama dog yet."
Emma held in a laugh and Regina put her hand over her mouth, obviously hiding a smile. It was good to know the kids understood why they would not have a puppy anytime soon. Henry had barely been able to take care of a hamster when he was home. They gave the poor little rodent away before Henry overfed the thing. Emma feared she had been on the way to witnessing her first hamster heart attack whenever it had tried to run in the hamster ball.
"Are you okay, Duck?" Emma asked.
Nathan nodded. "Yeah, but who's my spoon?"
Emma tilted her head and glanced at Regina. They had agreed when he asked, they would tell him, but Regina's face drained of color. This was the beginning of Regina's nightmare. Birth parents always would be. From now on, Regina would wait to hear Nathan ran off to live in the woods with Robin, who refused to let his little cabin go, even though most of the Merry Men had moved into town and some even managed to find their place in Storybrooke. Hell, Little John and Will Scarlet worked in the sporting goods store in the mall.
"Well, your spoon is Roland's spoon," Emma said.
Nathan nodded, but his eyes were on the ceiling. "But, his moms aren't my moms."
"No, they are not. Again, moms and dads and eggs and spoons aren't the same things. You can have the same spoons and have different moms and dads."
Nathan squinted. "Right, because the spoon doesn't have to take care of the baby, just make it. But, why make something if you don't want to take care of it?"
"How about that puppy, huh?"
He puffed out his cheeks. "Me and Odie could do it!"
She made a show of scoffing, throwing her head to the side and everything. "Yeah, you and Odie can barely get up for school on time. Imagine having to be a dad to the puppy? You'd have to wake up to walk a puppy before school and then you'd have to feed the puppy and give the puppy a bath and read the puppy a bedtime story."
He grimaced as she reminded him of all the responsibilities he and his sister knew they were not ready for. "Odie can't even read yet to do bedtime stories!"
Emma chuckled and rubbed his head to keep his spirits up. They were doing so good. Well, she and he were, but she was definitely going to have to talk Regina down when this was all said and done. She was not even sure Regina was still breathing over there, especially from her lack of reaction when Nathan said "Odie."
"So, if we got a puppy, I would be the spoon and Odie would be the egg and you and Mom would end up being the moms, even though we'd care about it."
"That's probably what would happen. You care about the puppy, but you can't take care of it. You can barely take care of you and Odie."
He frowned. "I'm five."
Emma chuckled, as that could be anything from an objection to a "duh." Nathan and Odette had inherited Henry's advanced maturity, but also like Henry, only sometimes. Her little brother was the same way, which meant they occasionally got smart aleck answers from people who were not even four feet tall.
"Do you understand, though?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, we got the same spoon, but he's not my dad. Do we got the same egg?" Nathan asked.
"Nope. Your egg is right there." Emma pointed to Regina. "Roland's egg is his mama."
"Well, why does his spoon take care of him, but not me?" Nathan sounded curious rather than upset.
"Different people can take care of different amounts of kids."
"Good thing you and Mom can handle a lot. I like that you take care of me." He smiled and tapped his fingers against her leg.
Emma grinned. "I like taking care of you, too." She had to kiss his head again.
He held up a single finger. "One more question, Mama."
"You can ask me as many questions as you want." And she knew he would. It was a good thing. Annoying sometimes, but good. She wanted him to always be curious, to want to learn, to do everything she could not do as a child. And she wanted him to always feel comfortable coming to her for answers.
"How come Roland doesn't know any of this stuff? He called me silly, but he doesn't know. He said his dad was my dad, but he's just my spoon. A spoon is not a dad," Nathan said. Mission accomplished!
Emma snickered and delighted as she heard a light giggle escape Regina. "No, a spoon is not a dad, which is why you're not silly at all. Everyone doesn't know everything, except your mom. Your mom totally knows everything, but Roland doesn't. He might think his dad is your dad just because he's your spoons. Sometimes, people confuse the two."
"Even Roland?"
"Yup, even Roland."
"But, he's ten!" Nathan held up all of his fingers. Putting him in preschool before kindergarten served him well. It helped that Regina insisted on playing educational games with their children.
"Like I said, the only person who knows everything is Mom." Emma pointed to Regina. Nathan turned to her.
Regina smiled and waved that off. "Your mama is being silly. I don't know everything either, but your mama makes a very good point, Nathan. Your parents don't have to be the people who made you. Your parents are the people who care about you and care for you. While you're my egg, do you know that Henry isn't?"
Nathan's eyes went wide. "Who's Henry's egg?"
"Your mama."
"And I didn't meet Henry until he was ten," Emma said, wanting him to understand that making a baby did not always equal taking care of the baby and parents came in all shapes and forms.
"What? Why? What happened?" Nathan clutched onto Emma's leg again, digging in deep.
She flicked one of his crinkled locks of hair. "I wasn't ready to take care of a baby, but your mom was and she decided to be Henry's mom. Henry came looking for me and it took me a little while, but eventually I was ready to be his mom, too, and Mom let me."
"What if my spoon wants to take care of me?" Nathan asked.
"Do you want your spoon to take care of you?" Emma inquired.
"Would he be my dad then, like Roland said?"
"He would. Do you want him to be your dad?"
Nathan's brow furrowed as he thought on that. "I don't think so. I like our family." He gave a firm nod and a smile. He then leaned in close. "I don't think my spoon is that great. Roland doesn't talk about him a lot and doesn't live with him like he does with his moms."
"You are wise beyond your years, kid." Emma ruffled his hair.
Roland lived with Marian and Mulan. Hearing Mulan tell it, Roland was growing increasing fascinated with his father as he disliked that he had to share his mothers with a toddler sister. He was not sure how to deal with it yet, even though he had over three years on how to figure it out, and handled it by asking to spend more time with his father. Robin basically lost custody of Roland because he refused to adjust to life in this world and in Storybrooke. Robin only got to see Roland through the kindness of Marian's heart. Robin still seemed to think he was simply entitled to all the world, but the world disagreed.
"Can Henry's spoon come and take him?" Nathan asked with a wrinkle in his forehead.
"No, Henry's spoon can't. Henry is all ours. You're all ours and Odette is all ours. None of you have to think about spoons unless you want to," Emma answered.
"Okay. Can I have a snack?" Nathan asked. And, just like that, the whole thing was over.
"I got you, dude." Emma handed him her sandwich. She could go make another one.
"Can we watch a Pokémon movie?"
It was that or My Little Pony and Emma was not sure which was worse at this point. But, crisis averted, so she was willing to give into whatever Nathan wanted. She gathered Regina in her arms while Nathan laid across both of them. Regina was tense, like if someone threw a brick at her, the brick would crumble on impact.
"I can only watch for a little while. I do have to go get Odette," Regina said and this was the truth rather than a means of escape. Of course, Emma wished she had the excuse to use as a means of escape. How the hell did this kid get into Pokémon of all things? She knew better than to ask, as it was probably her fault.
-8-8-8-8-
Nathan and Odette were finally in bed, they checked in on Henry with a FaceTime call, and now Emma could work on Regina. The day had obviously taken a toll on her, even though she tried to act normal. After she picked up Odette from her "princess play date," which was set up by Snow, involving her daughter and several other royals' daughters, Regina catered to Odette to avoid interacting with Nathan. She moved around Nathan like he was live bomb. Thankfully, he did not notice.
There were stress lines all over Regina's face. Her eyes were haunted, like she had already lost the entire world. It hurt to see. Regina was so frail. No one knew, but Regina was made of glass when it came to their family and the smallest thing could shatter her.
"Come here." Emma pulled Regina to her as they settled in bed. Regina was dressed in her usual nightgown while Emma was dressed in a t-shirt and mesh shorts that were probably going to get thrown away the second she put them in the laundry.
Regina groused and put up a little resistance. "Emma, I just want to sleep."
Emma gave her a soft kiss to her bare shoulder. "You deserve it. I know today was hard for you, but the first step is out of the way."
Regina sagged against her. "No thanks to me."
Emma gave her shoulder another kiss and then stroked the area with her thumb. "You kept it together. It was fine. I was prepared." Regina had not burst into tears, which was all Emma wanted from her.
"You really were. The egg and the spoon thing was very good."
"They like visuals."
"Like their mama."
Emma nodded. "I work best with visuals, yes. None of which I will ask for right now. I know you'll have to see it to believe it, but I don't think Nathan is going to have a problem with this bio dad thing. Like I said, the first step is out of the way and he was more upset that Roland thought he was silly than I wasn't his birth parent or whatever."
"But, one day, he might be. And Odette might be."
"We'll be ready. I know this is hard for you, but you have to trust me and our kids. This is not the same as when it was just you and Henry."
Regina wrapped her arms around Emma and tucked her head under Emma's chin. Emma liked that Regina did this when she wanted protection from the world. Emma would definitely fight off the world to make sure Regina was all right. It was the least she could do for Regina trusting her with her heart, her happiness, and everything in between.
Regina sighed and briefly massaged the area that held her heart. "I know it's not the same thing I went through with Henry, but I can still feel that pain. I don't want that for you and I don't want that for us."
"It's different now and we're ready. Besides, you think Henry tells him all of those stories starring adopted kids or two moms just because he's good at them?" Emma reminded her. Before Henry went off to college, one of his favorite things was to tell his little siblings stories or read them stories. They hung on his every word, more so than they did their moms, even though their moms did voices when they read. Whenever Henry made up a story for them, they always starred adopted children with two mothers, or at the very least an "unconventional" family.
Regina let out a long breath and tried to cuddle closer. "Still, I dread the day one them yells you're not my real mom."
A tear slid out of Regina's eye and broke Emma's heart. Ten years later and Regina seemed to still feel the pain from words of a confused child, who loved her to death now. Emma wiped away the tear and caressed Regina's cheek with her thumb. She also gave Regina a tight hug, reminding Regina how much she loved her.
"We'll be ready for that if it comes, but there's no reason for it to come. We're going to keep making sure they understand families come in all shapes and sizes. I know I can't tell you not to worry, but I don't want you to live the rest of your life waiting for the other shoe to drop when it probably isn't. You're an incredible mother. Nathan had a prime opportunity here to throw a tantrum and didn't. He wasn't bothered by me being his mother or Robin not being in his life or any of that. He was just upset with Roland acting like he was stupid," Emma said.
Regina sighed. "This could get so much worse, though."
"Or it could stay as awesome as it is. I know both of us have a hard time looking at the bright side of things and we have the bad habit of waiting for things to go to shit, but our family isn't going to go to shit. We're good at this. Our kids love us and we love them. We don't have secrets from them. If they want to know something, I've got hand puppets and you've got diagrams and graphic organizers." Henry inherited the graphic organizer thing.
Regina chuckled through her sorrow. "The hand puppets."
"They are a fan favorite. I'm gonna use them to explain something to you one day, so you can see why they're such a big deal."
Regina's hands caressed Emma's side. "You are a good mama, you know?"
Emma kissed the top of Regina's head. "I think it's because we're such a good team and I'm comfortable and ready. I don't think I could've done this with Henry." No, she knew for a fact she would not have been able to do this with Henry. She would have been overwhelmed and drowned in his needs.
"I think you would've grown into it. The way you are with them now has always been inside of you. I hope they recognize that always."
Emma nodded and ran her fingers through Regina's hair. "I think they will with both of us. If you think I'm a good mama, then you have to know you're a great mommy. You've become a great person in general, but as a mommy, you're above and beyond. You drive them to all these playdates and pick them up and get involved with their interests, even though they're practically still babies, and do the best for them. You give Nathan those talks about magic he may or may not have." He spent too much time talking to birds of all things in the backyard to not have magic.
Regina sucked her teeth and shook her head. "The damn birds. Why not squirrels?"
"You'd freak about about him getting rabies if it were squirrels. Besides, he could be making it up."
"He's not."
Emma was sure he was not, but there was a chance. "Anyway, you're preparing him for that adventure. And, everything you do with our princess is awesome. You learned sign language with her before dragging the rest of us to learn, too. Hell, you tried to help me get it, even after I kept screwing up the signs." Sign language was not her thing and she was certain she had cursed poor Odette out way more than a person should curse out their toddler daughter. But, she stuck with it thanks to Regina's encouragement and she was not the worst person to ever use American sign language now.
"We have to communicate with her and she had to be able to communicate to the world. People need to know her hearing issue isn't a disability," Regina replied. They had that argument with more people than Emma liked. She never imagined how much the town thought Odette being hard of hearing, not quite deaf, but close enough that getting her implants made a world of difference, that the town thought… well, Emma was not sure. Some people seemed to think her hearing made Odette less of a person and others thought it meant they should have her put in a bubble, kept at home, and made sure nothing ever touched her.
"You're the one who tracked down the implant for Odette, even though you had that minor breakdown about it," Emma said. They had agreed to get Odette implants to help with her hearing issues. The implant was new and they were all getting used to it, especially Odette. She was still hard of hearing, but she could make out sounds as long as she was close enough or they were loud enough. It just made life easier for her in a town where almost no one practiced sign language or seemed interested in trying to understand Odette.
Regina scowled at her. "Emma, we could be costing her her culture."
Emma had to laugh. "Regina, the deaf culture is not her culture. You have to be raised in a culture. You know that. She wouldn't have been able to be part of the deaf culture because we're not part of it. Although, knowing you, you'd probably study the hell out of that to give it to her."
Regina gave her a squeeze. "Our babies need the choices we didn't have."
"You know I totally, wholeheartedly agree. I love being able to give them stuff we didn't have and I mean that way beyond physical stuff." They were both able to give their children love and affection they did not have, experiences they had never had, and allow them to blossom into their own people rather than beat down. "That's why I know this is going to be okay."
"Because we give them choices?"
"Because we give them love, but we don't spoil them. We give them what they need to grow. I think we're okay right now. So, can you just live in the moment? After all, tomorrow you have to host a tea party for some short people. I can't wait to see what you put Nate and Odie in."
Regina pulled away enough for Emma to see her scowling. "Don't call them that."
Emma only laughed. Between the nicknames Regina did not like and the cultured events she liked to have for their tiny children, Emma was amused to no end. Other children would come to those things. Roland and his sister. Snow liked to bring Neal, so he could share his almost seven-year-old wisdom with them and also find out what the birds were saying to Nathan. Eva, Snow's daughter, was just starting to hang out with the children, as she was the smallest and youngest of them. Added to that, Ashley's daughters had come to be friends with their children and Alex was one tough cookie. Then, there was Azhara, Odette's best friend, and child of Aladdin and Jasmine. This was going to be a mess when they were all teenagers. Emma could feel it.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: there's more talks of eggs and spoons while at a tea party.
