Hey everyone, before we get started, there will be a few things different with this verse. For one, Regina is Mary's former step-mother and they've got a close bond. Ruth and Robert are both alive and apart of David's life. August will also be appearing as one of Emma, Lily and Bae's friends in a later chapter. This chapter discusses past child and domestic abuse. (If you are a fan of Leopold, this story isn't for you.) I had a couple of people ask for Emma to experience bed wetting, so that will be explored in this chapter.
Chapter Two: Accidents
When Emma woke up from her nap, she spread out and realized that she was actually on a comfortable bed. Typically, whenever she fell asleep watching T.V, she was left on a hard floor. Sitting up, she looked around her room once again. As comfy as the bed was, something didn't feel right. She pulled back her covers and realized what was wrong: she had wet the bed. Instantly, her heart began racing as she thought back to Ed. She had been so used to hiding her sheets or trying to wash them herself, anything to avoid a beating.
There had even been times when Ed had screamed at her so hard that she had peed her pants right then and there. She was forced to clean the floor and told that she was a bad girl for soiling her clothes. She didn't want to be a bad girl. This bedroom had been so nice, Mary Margaret and David had worked so hard on it. Climbing down from the bed, she tried to pull the sheets off her bed, but it was harder than at her old house. She was used to sleeping on a mattress that was barely off the floor, this bed was too high.
Little did she realize, her attempt to clean up after herself, got the attention of Mary and David downstairs. They figured she was up and exploring, so they headed up to her room. When they saw her tugging at the sheets, they instantly knew what was wrong and rushed to her side. Emma looked from one to the other and burst into tears. Mary knelt in front of her, pushing hair out of her face.
"Hey, it's okay," she whispered.
"I'm sorry," Emma wailed, not even hearing her foster mother's soothing words. "I'll be a good girl!"
"You're not a bad girl, Emma," Mary soothed. "You just had an accident, everyone has accidents from time to time."
"I…I ruined my clothes. I don't have anything else."
"That's why I got you new outfits, see?" Mary reached over and pulled open the drawers on the dresser. "How about we pick out a new outfit, give you a bath and then we can go to the park?"
Emma sniffled. "I'm not in trouble?"
"Of course not, Princess," David whispered, the nickname just coming naturally. "We're not mad at you."
Emma looked at the two of them in such disbelief, it broke their hearts. Had she really been punished for something that most little kids her age did occasionally? Not to mention, Mary had read that children of abuse often ended up regressing a bit. She supposed they would have to look into pull ups. She also realized that Emma would need a checkup. Hopefully, she could get her in to see the doctor soon.
David knew that he needed to leave the girls alone for the bath, so he kissed Mary's cheek and squeezed Emma's hand. She looked up at him, still in shock. More than anything she expected him to be upset with her. Yet, there was this kindness in his eyes that she had never seen. She didn't realize it, but he was looking at her with all of the love in the world. He grabbed the sheets and headed downstairs to wash them.
Mary lead Emma down the hall to the bathroom and helped her out of her clothes, starting the tub. "I have these bath bombs," she said. She held up a pink one. "This one makes flower petals come out, wanna see?"
Emma nodded hesitantly. Once the tub was filled up enough, Mary threw in the bath bomb and it began to fizzle. It soon turned the bathwater pink and had released little flower petals along with some hearts. Emma's eyes widened in amazement and tiny smile went across her face.
"Whoa," she breathed. "It's like magic."
Mary giggled. "I suppose it is."
As she helped Emma into the tub, she could see the wounds that were on her back. Some of the bruises were brand new, others were fading. Along Emma's shoulder blade, there was a faint scar. Mary reached out, running her finger around it. Emma tensed up in the tub, clearly it was a sensitive issue.
"I'm sorry, sweets," Mary said. "I was just curious. How did that happen?"
Emma bit her lip. "Daddy hit me."
Mary tensed up. "What did he hit you with?"
"A coat hanger. He made me tell the doctor that I fell." She wasn't sure why she wanted to tell the Mary the truth, there was just something about how she had reacted to her accident.
"That wasn't right," Mary told her, gently. "You never have to lie to the doctor."
Emma nodded. "I don't have to lie to you?"
"No, baby. Of course not."
"He said if I told the truth, he'd hurt me more."
"Oh Emma, I promise you. That man will never be able to hurt you again. I will make sure of it."
Emma wasn't sure if she believed her foster mother, but she wanted to. She allowed Mary to give her a bath, playing with a few of the rubber duckies. She slowly felt herself relaxing, not noticing that Mary was taking the opportunity to take her in. Emma was incredibly small for her age, some of her ribs were even showing through her stomach. It was clear that she was malnourished on top of being beaten. Mary just did not understand how a parent could inflict such pain upon a child.
Abuse, unfortunately, was nothing new to her. While she had escaped it in her childhood, she knew that her step-mother was no stranger to it. Mary's mother, Eva, had died when she was quite young. When she was 10, her father ended up marrying a young woman who was only 8 years older than her. It was a business arrangement, Leopold had been business partners with Cora. Regina had been given very little choice in the matter and was forced to become a step-mother straight out of high school.
It was only then that Mary had seen the true side of her father. Any time Regina stood up against Leopold, she was hit. It took years for her to realize that the noises she was hearing at night from the master bedroom were not the two wrestling and she also knew that it wasn't consensual. But Regina was scared, not only for her, but for her step-daughter. She worried if she left, Mary would become the next victim.
Finally, when Mary was 18, she was able to help Regina escape. It took time, but Regina was able to file for divorce. When Leopold found out that his only child had helped her do so, he cut her off. The two had moved into an apartment together, where they both decided to go back to school. It was there that Mary had met David.
She would never regret what she had done to help Regina. Despite their small age gap, she was the closest thing she had to a mother. Regina was excited to be a grandmother to Emma. One thing they both agreed on, was that Leopold would not be a part of Emma's life. She hadn't even spoken to him in over 10 years, so she had great hope that it would not be an issue.
Mary noticed that Emma had taken great interest in her engagement ring. Compared to the silver band in front of it, the emerald stood out. "That's pretty," Emma said.
She smiled. "Thank you. David gave it to me, it was his mommy's."
Emma nodded and continued playing with her rubber duck. Eventually, the bath was over and she was helped out of the tub. Mary dried her off with a fluffy yellow towel that felt so warm and cozy, she almost didn't want to take it off. That was until she saw the outfit that had been picked out for her. It was a brand new pair of jeans and a gray Zootopia shirt that had Judy and Nick on it. She tried to dress herself, but ended up needing some assistance with buttoning the jeans.
"I can't tie my shoes either," she mumbled.
"That's okay, I got you Velcro, just in case." Mary kissed the top of her head, which seemed to take Emma off guard, but then she smiled. That alone, caused Mary's heart to flutter. "Now come on, I think David's waiting on us to go to the park."
Once Emma's hair was dry, they headed downstairs. Mary and David lead her out to the car, where they had a car seat all set for her. David lifted her up into his arms, causing Emma to tense up yet again. However, when he just strapped her into her car seat, she seemed to settle a bit. He gave her a smile and she managed to return one.
The ride to the park was a quick one. School had let out for the day, so there were a few kids Emma's age there. She seemed to stay near Mary, not wanting to venture off. David noticed Mal, one of the town's lawyers. He knew she had a daughter that was going to be in Emma's kindergarten class. Mal had noticed their entrance to the park and was about to send Lily over. However, before she could do anything, the little girl raced over to the Nolans, her wild raven hair blowing in the wind as she did.
"Hiya! I'm Lily," she said to Emma.
Emma leant into Mary's legs, unsure of how to really react to her. Mary gently rubbed her back. "Sweetheart, it's okay. You can play with her if you want."
"I'm on the monkey bars," Lily explained, pointing over to the playground equipment. "Do you wanna play?"
Emma had to admit, it did look fun. Plus, the girl seemed very nice, if a bit overly excited. "Okay…I'm Emma."
"Cool!"
Lily took Emma by the hand and practically dragged her off to the monkey bars. Mal chuckled and walked over to her friends, leaning back against a tree.
"So, how's it going so far?" She asked.
"I don't know," Mary admitted. "She's been through so much."
"She'll barely even go near me," David added. "Which is to be expected, it's just heartbreaking."
"You just have to give it time, it is only day one," Mal reminded them.
David nodded. "We know that. Still doesn't make it hurt any less that she's been through so much pain."
They watched as Emma scrambled up the ladder of the monkey bars. She started swinging from bar to bar like a little monkey. David and Mary watched in amazement. It was clear just how brave she was. Lily was next, being a tad more daring, trying to skip bars along the way, nearly giving her mother a heart attack the entire time. Eventually, the little girls ran over to the jungle gym and started playing on it. David couldn't help but smile as he saw how well they automatically made friends.
Growing up on the farm, his one best friend was his twin brother, James. The two were identical and always up to some kind of mischief. Since they didn't have any neighbors that they could walk to, they ended up spending a lot of time with each other. As they reached their teens, they seemed to go down different paths. David took school very seriously and while he would hang out with friends, they seemed to be the right crowd.
James had gone a completely different way about things. He had fell into the rough group of kids and began dating Jack, one of the "bad girls". There was more to her than met the eye, that much was sure. When she came by the house, she seemed to treat everyone with respect. However, whenever they left the farm, it was nothing but trouble. David warned his brother over and over again to be careful. James swore he was, he knew what he was doing.
Until their senior prom night. David had gone with one of his friends, Abigail. They had stopped by the after party, but then went to their respective homes. James and Jack had stayed. A fight broke out and Jack got mixed up in it all. James had jumped in to save her. Neither of them made it out alive. The guy who killed them had only ended up serving 5 years in prison, because he was drunk. It was all considered manslaughter.
Most may have given up in the justice system, but for David, it made him want to prove that there was still justice out there. Losing his brother nearly tore apart his family. His dad began drinking heavily and his mom spent all day in bed. Family therapy was what saved them all. They still missed James deeply, but knew he would want them to move on with their lives, which was exactly what they had done.
David suddenly found himself fearing Emma's teens for that very reason. It only made him hope that they'd be able to see Emma in her teens. He already knew he wanted to be her dad forever. How could someone like Ed still have his rights? Time would only tell if that was going to change.
Emma seemed to skip up the walkway when they got back from the park. Mary and David smiled after her, that had definitely been a good idea to get her to perk up. David turned the key in the lock and was about to ask Mary what she wanted to do for dinner, when suddenly they saw a few people standing in their home. Not just any people, but their family. Ruth and Robert were looking at Emma as if they were going to break down into tears. Regina was nearby, a huge smile on her face.
The little girl looked between the three strangers, beginning to feel her heart race. Whenever her biological parents had friends over, nothing good seemed to come from it. Any trace of a smile that she had disappeared from her face and she raced up the stairs. The smiles dropped from Regina, Robert and Ruth's faces.
"What was that all about?" Regina asked.
Mary sighed. "We thought you guys would call first."
"Call? We never call."
"You really should've."
David could see the hurt going across his parents' faces. "We wanted you to meet her, we really did. It's just that she's been through a lot. She was very badly abused, it's taking her time to warm up to us, let alone people we didn't prepare her for."
The hurt was replaced with guilt on Robert's face. "We didn't know."
"What kind of abuse?" Regina asked.
David gnawed on his lip. "There was a lot of physical and we're guessing verbal. But…he also molested her."
Three sets of fits seemed to clench all at once. David wasn't sure that he had ever seen his mother looking so angry before in his life, not that he could blame her.
"Let me go talk to her," Mary said. "I'll see if maybe she wants to come down."
"I made my lasagna," Regina offered. "If it'll help."
Mary smiled softly at her step-mother. "I'll see if it will."
She headed upstairs to Emma's room. She panicked at first when she saw it was empty, until she saw the closet door opened a crack. Carefully, she walked over and opened it. Emma was curled up inside, clinging to her baby blanket and lamb plushie. Mary knelt in front of her.
"Who are all those people?" Emma whispered.
"They're our family," Mary explained, softly. "My step-mom, Regina and David's parents, Ruth and Robert."
"They scared me."
"I know, they didn't mean to. They just were so excited to meet you, we told them all about you."
Emma sniffled. "Really?"
"Uh huh. You don't have to come back downstairs until you're ready, though. Do you want me to sit with you?" Emma shook her head. "Okay, you know where we'll be if you change your mind." She went back down to the rest of the family. "She just needs a few minutes, how about I get drinks for everyone?"
They headed into the kitchen and Regina helped Mary get everyone's preferred beverage. She didn't miss the arm that Regina slid around her waist. It was subtle, but just what she needed in the moment. She knew that watching all that Regina had been through had taught her how to best handle the situation they were all dealing with.
Just as they were getting ready to eat, Emma entered the kitchen, dragging her blanket behind her, still clutching the lamb in her hand. David beamed upon seeing the plushie, glad that she seemed taken with it so soon. Ruth, Robert and Regina were gentle with Emma. It was clear it was killing Ruth to just not wrap Emma in a big hug, but she also wanted to respect her feelings and was doing a good job.
Dinner was a rather lively affair, something Emma wasn't used to. She usually was in charge of her own dinner, which meant cereal or a protein bar if there was anything in the house at all. Most nights she ended up going without eating anything. Her first full meal in months had ben when she was sent to the group home. It had taught her not to be picky about much. She ended up scarfing down her portion of lasagna in no time. Regina served her another portion, this time a little bigger.
"Do you like it?" She asked.
Emma nodded. "It's yummy. I love cheese."
Regina chuckled. "So do I."
Mary reached over to wipe Emma's saucy face, not that it seemed to do much good as time went on. When they got to dessert, Ruth brought out her famous chocolate chip cookies, which also made Emma very happy. As the meal came to a close, Robert nodded over at her lamb plushie.
"That's a cute lamb."
Emma glanced down at it. "David gave it to me."
"It looks like the ones we have on our farm."
Her eyes widened in amazement. "You have a farm?"
"We do. We have sheep, pigs, cows…" He trailed off as he listed all the animals they had.
"Wow," Emma breathed.
"Maybe you could come by and see the farm sometime," Ruth suggested. "We also have a dog named Wilby."
Emma nodded. "Okay." It was the first time she had seemed to confirm to distant plans, which made everyone smile.
"Does your lamb have a name?" Ruth asked.
Emma consulted her new toy for a few minutes, squinting a bit to look at it. They were expecting her to name him something like "Lamby" or "Fuzzy".
"Luke."
Mary grinned. "Where'd you get Luke from?"
"I don't know. That's just his name," Emma replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which made everyone laugh.
Once dessert was over with, Robert, Ruth and Regina decided it was time to go. They hugged their respective children goodbye, waving to Emma, who seemed a bit sad to see them go. They promised they would see her soon. Mary helped Emma change into her pajamas and tucked her into bed.
"Would you like a story?" She asked. Emma hesitantly nodded and Mary reached over to the shelf, grabbing a book off the shelf titled "I Will Love You Forever".
The words choked Mary up as she read them to her foster daughter.
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living my baby you'll be.
She had only known this little girl one day and she already meant every sentence that she read. Before the book was even over, Emma had drifted off to sleep. Mary kissed the top of her head.
"I love you, baby," she whispered.
The following afternoon, the pediatrician managed to squeeze Emma in for her first appointment. She seemed nervous as they waited to be seen, but allowed David to distract her with some of the toys. Eventually, the nurse came out and called them back. She took Emma's weight and took her height. Once inside the room, she inspected Emma a bit as she clung to her foster mother. It was only a few minutes before the pediatrician came in.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Whale, "he said, shaking both David and Mary's hands. He looked down at Emma and gave her a gentle smile. "And you must be Emma."
Emma slowly nodded. "I'm not sick," she told him.
Whale chuckled. "I'm sure you're not, this is just a checkup. Just to see how you're doing."
After consulting her chart, Whale started to run his own tests on Emma. Mary and David did not like the frown that had fallen across his lips. He wasn't saying anything, outside asking Emma where things hurt and what things she enjoyed. Eventually, the frown disappeared and the smile was back.
"Okay, Emma, I'm going to send you off with Nurse Maureen, she's going to take you to color while I talk to your foster parents, okay?"
Emma hesitated and David put a hand on her back. "It's okay," he promised. "We'll see you soon."
Emma reluctantly followed the nurse into another room. Whale lead Mary and David into his office, settling down with a sigh.
"That doesn't sound like a good sigh," David said.
"I will say, it's a miracle that she's still walking around," Whale said, which made them wince. "She is malnourished and has suffered some pretty bad abuse. The way she flinched when I touched her, it's clear that she'll need some counseling. Are you two aware of Dr. Hopper?"
Mary nodded. "We're good friends of his."
"I'd recommend making an appointment."
"She's so skinny," David whispered. "And small."
"As I'm sure you know, according to her records, she was born addicted to drugs. That is why she's on the shorter end," Whale explained. "The weight…that has nothing to do with that. I want to put her on this special formula, it'll help her gain some weight and keep her healthy."
"Does she have any other health issues we should be worried about?" David asked.
"I would just watch out for her leg. According to her records, she fractured it pretty badly last year."
Mary frowned. "Does it say how?"
"Helga Swan told the hospital that she fell down the stairs, but given what I know, I'm doubtful of that."
David slid his hand into Mary's squeezing it.
"Emma's immune system also seems low, I'd be afraid that she could get sick easily, definitely watch out for that," Whale continued. "For the bed wetting, I would recommend some pull ups. If she goes 2 weeks without an accident, then you can go back to regular underwear at night. Outside that, I would just keep on time of everything. She has been through so much, she needs all the help she can get."
"We'll do whatever we need to," Mary told him. "However we can help her, that's what we'll do. You just give us the tools to do so."
Whale grinned. "That, I can do."
As always, please let me let me know what you thought and what you want to see next! Until next time, my friends. =)
