As the afternoon progressed, the birthday bliss remained steady for Emma. She, Regina, and the kids had spent the day outside by the water. Regina and Dani packed lunch for a picnic, while the other three kids picked out a blanket and their bathing suits.
The family spent several hours by the shore; eating, swimming, laughing. Emma made sure to get an obnoxious amount of pictures as her children swam through the high tides and splashed each other with water. Of course, Emma didn't get any snapshots of her oldest daughter chasing her through the sand with wet, open arms.
They didn't get home until four o'clock, and by then, several of the family members needed some sleep. Emma carried Faith in from the car as the little girl slept peacefully in her mother's arms. Dakota and August were somewhere in the middle of pre-teen life where they could take a nap, or they could last until midnight. And Dani, she was still wide awake.
While Emma and Regina cleaned the dishes and put away leftovers, Dani shuffled into the kitchen with a card behind her back.
"Hey, baby girl," Emma greeted casually; cold water ran over her hands as she rinsed out a bowl that had previously been used for yogurt.
"Hey, moms. Uh, Ma, I wanted to give you your present early," Dani said. The teenager marched up to her mothers and held out the yellow envelop. "I guess it's kinda for both of you." Emma gave her daughter a playfully suspicious look as she ripped open the paper shell. Inside was a folded note with neatly written cursive on the front cover that read, "Happy birthday Ma." And, under the first line, read,"One night of free babysitting." "I know you probably wanna have a night just the two of you. I figured I'm old enough to watch the twins and Faith by now. So, if you ever wanna have a date night or whatever, I can stay home. You don't need Red or Grandma and Grandpa to babysit us."
"It's great, Dani. Thanks," Emma hugged the young woman. "You're right, you are old enough. When'd that happen?" Time was just flying by too fast for Emma to wrap her head around. The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt.
Dani shrugged nonchalantly. "Uh, probably when I turned 13," she said sarcastically.
"Ok, enough sass young lady," Regina sighed. "Go check on your siblings." Dani nodded obediently, disappeared from the kitchen, and left her mothers alone yet again.
Seconds later, Emma's phone rang. "Sheriff Swan. What? Ok, yeah, I'll be there in 10."
Regina gave Emma a quizzical look as the blonde hung up. "Everything all right?"
"Disturbance at Granny's." Emma shook her head dismissively. "It's probably nothin', babe."
"Not on your day off, Emma. Can't David go?"
"Gina, I'm the sheriff; I don't get days off."
"Need I remind you that that election was rigged?"
"Ah come on, you know you love being the boss of me," Emma winked.
Regina huffed impatiently. "Very well. Take your father with you. Just in case," she suggested, though it was more of a plea.
Emma heard the small amount of fear in Regina's voice and nodded dutifully. "Roger that. I'll be back in time for the party," she said before pecking Regina on the cheek.
"I don't know what you're talking about," the brunette answered stiffly. Sometimes, Regina was a great liar. Hell, she'd lied to a whole town for 28 years. But, sometimes, she was flat out horrible.
Emma was already throwing on her old blue jacket with her keys in her hand. "Whatever, babe," she yelled over her shoulder. "Love ya!"
Emma met David at the station, and the father-daughter pair walked to Granny's Diner casually. "Who made the call?" David asked authoritatively.
"Not sure. Deep voice. Didn't recognize it."
"Wasn't Granny?"
"Nope, definitely not Granny. Unless there's something she hasn't told us," Emma chuckled. The sheriff and her deputy approached the small establishment, both with their hand on their guns for safety. When they walked in, Granny greeted them with a smile. The customers all sat and ate their meals quietly as if everything were perfect.
"Hey, Granny, we got a call about a possible disruption here," David informed in hushed tones. He leaned over the counter and did a visual sweep of the room.
Granny frowned and removed her glasses from her face. "Really? Well, everything's ok here."
Emma scanned the guests and made note of who was there. "D'you mind if we check? For legal purposes?"
"Sure, go ahead. Would you like some coffee?" Granny asked politely.
David smiled graciously, "No, we're good. Thanks. We'll just be a minute." Granny nodded in understanding and let the law enforcers do their job.
Out of all 14 customers, there was only one that Emma didn't recognize. An older man in the back booth, bald, beige trench coat, hunched over the table. His back was turned to Emma as she approached him. "Dad," she beckoned. David snapped his head up and followed his daughter until they were just a few feet away from the stranger. "You know him?"
David squinted and tried to place the man, which was hard to do when he couldn't see his face. "Can't tell."
Emma shrugged as she took just two steps closer. To maintain a calm environment and avoid creating alarm, Emma acted as though she were a waitress. "Sir? How is everything today?"
"Better, now," the older gentleman said as he heard the footsteps behind him. Emma instantly identified the man as the one who had put the call in. The stranger turned around slowly until he was staring face-to-face with David, a gun pointed straight for his chest. King George sneered at the ungrateful man he'd given a throne to. Gasps filled the air from frightened customers as they tried to flee the diner. Granny dropped the plates she'd been about to serve and fumbled for her cross bow under the counter. "I told you someday you'd wished you'd killed me."
David recognized the individual before him; flashes of his life in the Enchanted Forest played in his mind. Unconsciously, David's hand fell from his weapon as his face dropped in shock. He didn't even noticed when King George cocked the gun and pulled the trigger. And, David clearly didn't notice when Emma pushed him out of the way.
The children were in the living room fighting over what to watch when the phone rang. Regina was the first one to answer, a wooden spoon in her hand from stirring brownie batter. "Hello? I'm sorry who?" She covered her other ear as she struggled to understand the voice on the other end. Then, Regina's heart sank deep into her chest as she slowly established who was talking to her. "Dr. Whale?"