December 16th, 2014
Emma stretched the last piece of tape over the reindeer wrapping paper and smiled in triumph. Day 1 down, now all she had to do was deliver it.
She grabbed her badge from the bedside table and headed downstairs. With barely a glance in their direction Emma called a quick bye to Snow and the baby as she grabbed her jacket and hat and slipped them on on her way out the door. She placed the cd in her pocket as she got in the bug and made her way to Granny's.
The morning rush was over by the time Emma arrived with only Mrs. Thomas and Archie still eating breakfast, while a man she vaguely recognized sat at the counter drinking coffee. As she claimed a stool by the cash register Emma chastised herself for not coming earlier; it would have been much easier to sneak a present to her favourite waitress when the diner was crowded.
"Hey Em!" Ruby greeted her happily a moment later, a wide grin spreading across her face. The blonde couldn't help but smile back, and she thought again of how lucky she was that she'd drawn her friend's name. Not only did she know Ruby well enough that presents weren't too hard to think of, but she actually wanted to do nice things for Rubes.
Without asking, Ruby brought her coffee just the way she liked it (if a bit lower quality than what Regina made, a traitorous voice whispered), and they began to chat amicably, Emma asking about the brunette's new job at the newspaper and Ruby asking about baby Neal and Henry and, to Emma's surprise, Regina. After the third question about the former mayor, Emma came to the conclusion Ruby must have been the one to draw Ruby's name and was fishing for information.
Emma indulged in a second bear claw, dawdling in hopes of finding an opportunity to hide her small package somewhere for Ruby to find. By the time an hour had passed, she was forced to accept that no magical inspiration was going to strike, so on her way out of the shop she simply slipped the cd onto an empty stool and hoped Ruby would at least pretend not to know who it was from.
When Emma arrived at the station, there was a small flat package waiting on her desk. The wrapping paper was crisp and neat, a simple dark blue, and she almost felt guilty at the way she ripped into it. A smile bloomed across her face as a small picture of she and Henry looked up at her from the center of a detailed silver snowflake the size of her hand. As she lifted it up to get a closer look she noticed a string at the back and smiled at the thought of how happy Henry would be to put it on their tree.
She placed it carefully on the side of her desk and got to work, smiling each time it caught her eye.
-She didn't get a present.-
-Huh?- Emma responded in confusion.
-Mom!- Henry texted back instantly, and Emma could practically see his look of exasperation. A moment later her phone buzzed again. –Her secret santa didn't give her a present. She's pretending not to care but she does.- Emma sighed, but before she could respond another text came. –We have to fix it Ma. It's Christmukkah.-
She couldn't help smiling; somehow the ridiculous holiday was much cuter from her 13 year old son than from her mother.
-I'll figure something out kid.- She promised. It was Hanukkah after all. And Regina had been already been sad enough to last a lifetime.
It was nearly midnight when Regina heard the doorbell ring. She considered ignoring it, but then she thought of her most frequent visitor of late and she was on her feet before she'd made a conscious decision. It could be an emergency, she told herself as she pulled her robe tighter and walked to the door.
Her confusion at the empty porch only lasted for a few moments before she looked down and noticed a large bottle with a bow around its neck. She quickly grabbed it and shut the door to block out the bitter night air.
A small smile played at the corner of her lips as she inspected the apple juice, noticing the small chunks of fruit at the bottom that told her it might just meet her standards. It seemed someone in the town hadn't forgotten her after all.