After wandering through the woods and along the beach on the excuse that she was making rounds, since she was still the sheriff of Storybrooke, Emma went to Henry. Besides the fact that he was her son, he was also the first person she had known coming to town. And the thing about Henry was he was exactly the same. Having the curse broken changed nothing between them and for that Emma couldn't have been more grateful.
She plopped down in the chair beside his bed and sighed. Henry stirred in his sleep but didn't wake. After glancing at the monitors beside him and watching him breathe for a minute, Emma laid her arm over her face, shielding her eyes from the bright halogen lights.
Maybe she needed to sleep.
She should be tired. If anything would wipe you out it was fighting a dragon, but she didn't feel it physically. Mentally, that was another story. She was emotionally exhausted and she was sick of trying to sort through how she should be feeling. She hoped sleep would help, but in the end it would only prolong the inevitable. It was an escape. When she woke the feelings would be there. New and raw: ready for round two. Emma didn't think she could handle it, so she forced her eyes open. Sleep would be a cheap remedy to a big problem.
Maybe she needed a drink. Emma perked up a little. A drink sounded promising.
A small thud against the window looking into Henry's room grabbed her attention. Her are fell away from her face and her eyes fluttered up. She grimaced.
Mary Margaret's army of dwarves had followed her to the hospital. Or maybe should she amend that to Snow White's, since she was pretty sure the shy school teacher she had become friends with did not have an army of dwarves at her disposal. She thought they had been spying on her when she was making her pretend rounds. Some of them smiled sympathetically. Leroy glared at her. Stupid Grumpy. She didn't need that now.
Infuriated, Emma jumped to her feet, stormed across the room and dragged the drapes across the window.
She crossed her arms and spun around only to see that Henry was now awake and staring at her perplexedly.
"Hey," he said with a yawn.
Emma dropped her hands to her hips. "Sorry, kid, didn't mean to wake you."
"Yes, you did," Henry said. "You want to talk."
Emma scowled but her lips curved at the edges. Smart kid.
"You're famous," Henry said, rolling onto his side and nodding to the window.
"Just what I always wanted to be," Emma remarked as she crossed the room and took her seat, leaning against the bed and propping her chin against her hand. "How're you feeling?"
"Alright," Henry said with a smile. "Gramma and Gramps were here."
Emma furrowed her brow. Who?
"Mary Margaret and David," Henry said with an exaggerated eye roll, "you know, your parents."
Emma glanced towards the door quickly, then back to Henry. "They came to the hospital?"
Henry nodded. "They came here looking for you. They're worried."
Emma grimaced.
Henry picked at a stray string on his bed sheets. "Why was Mary Margaret crying so much?" he asked.
"Aw, kid, she was just happy you were okay," Emma said without missing a beat.
"No," Henry said forcefully. "She misses you. She wants you. Why can't you just be okay with this? They're your parents. You did it. You broke the curse so you could be together."
"I know, but not everyone is as accepting and forgiving as you, kid," Emma said.
Henry gave her a small smile. "How do you know if you don't even try?"
That caught her off guard and Emma closed her mouth, at a loss for words.
"You're too smart for your own good," she said finally.
And he was. The problem was she was too stubborn and that cancelled out any high hopes Henry had of a normal family.
Emma stared at him and he looked back at her, more unspoken things passing between them. Finally Henry yawned and Emma sighed. "I think it's time I leave," she said. "It's late and you need your rest."
Henry's hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist. "Only if you're going home to Gramma's."
"You gunna keep calling them that?" Emma asked.
"Yep," Henry grinned. "They said it was okay."
"Figures," Emma murmured. "What are my other options?"
"You could stay here and tell me a bedtime story," Henry offered half-heartedly. Emma knew he wanted her to go reconcile with her parents.
"I've got a good one," she muttered. "It's about a town that shouldn't exist but does exist and everyone's insane."
"You don't really think that," Henry said. His lips jutted out in a pout. "Do you?"
"I don't know what I think anymore, kid." Emma sighed.
"Please just go talk to them," Henry begged.
"Alright," Emma conceded standing and stretching before shrugging into her coat.
"You promise," Henry said.
Emma nodded. "Yeah, sure kid." She didn't tell him about the detour she planned to make beforehand.
Henry smiled and Emma leaned over to kiss him on the forehead. "Night. Be good. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, and Emma," Henry said.
She looked back at him from the door. "Yeah?"
"I love you."
Emma smiled. "Love you too, kid. Nothing will ever change that."
Henry nodded with a smile on his face and rolled over, tucking his hands under his head.
Emma slipped out the door and turned down the hall, only to be surrounded by several dwarves. She faltered, but continued walking, weaving her way through them. When the footsteps behind her failed to cease, she turned abruptly and glowered. "What are you doing?"
"We must remain with you princess—"
"Are you kidding me? I don't need an escort," she snapped.
"But princess, it's not safe—"
Emma held up her hand. "One, I'm not a princess. And two, I have a gun. I think I'm covered." She sighed at the disappointed faces. "Look, if you want to be useful, then guard Henry's room in case Regina decides to do anymore stupid things."
"The Queen hasn't be seen by anyone since this morning," one of the dwarves said.
Emma nodded. "That's what worries me, but the offer stands. Stay with Henry or go find another princess to stalk. I'm sure there are tons of them kicking around this town."
"As you wish, princess." The dwarves made several clumsy bows which Emma refused to acknowledge, instead opting to use the distraction to get out of the hospital as quickly as possible. Once she was free she made her way down Main Street, hurrying along past wandering eyes, and turned into the nearest bar, one aptly named the Rabbit Hole. It was a dive of a joint but the drinks were cheap and the bartender was spacy so he lost count of the number of drinks Emma was choking back.
Emma hummed lightly to herself, the heavy liquor burning her throat and searing away all logical thought. She sensed the presence behind her before Leroy said anything. She turned, raised her eyebrows at him and downed the rest of her Vodka, smacking her lips together. "I thought I told you I didn't need an escort. I'm a grown woman. I can walk myself home."
The dwarf scrambled onto the bar stool next to here. The bartender made his way over but Leroy waved him off, instead focusing a heavy glare on Emma. "Look sister, this isn't going to fix anything, but if you're determined to drown your problems in alcohol then I'm staying. You need someone to cut you off since you obviously have no moral code right now."
"Excuse me," Emma slurred, pointing a thin finger at the dwarf, which he quickly knocked away to her dismay.
"You have two people who love you more than anything in the world and you're pushing them away," Leroy said in a tone remnant of an ultimatum. "They've waited twenty-eight years for you and now you're sitting here looking for the bottom of a Vodka bottle. Well, sister, you're almost there, so I'd say it's time to pack it in, get off your high-horse and go talk to your parents."
Emma leaned away from him, sizing up the pint-sized dwarf. She could take him. Maybe not in heeled boots but she could definitely hold her own. "I'm the sheriff," she said. "You can't tell me what to do."
Leroy cracked a smirk. "Spoken like your mother's daughter, princess."
"Cut the princess crap," she said.
"Again, just like your mother."
Emma stared at Leroy, then she looked away and slammed her head down on the bar. "Guilt trip can stop any time," she said.
"Sorry princess, just doing my job."
Emma groaned loudly, gathering the attention of several bar hoppers, including an auburn haired woman occupying the pool tables. "Mary Margaret sent you to guilt trip me?" she said, picking up her head.
"No, I swore to protect Snow and I will continue to protect her, even if that means saving her from you."
Emma frowned. "I'm a bad person," she said.
"No, you're just confused. But it doesn't hurt anyone any less."
Emma nodded. "My head hurts."
Leroy smirked. "Yep, I'd say you've had your fill." He looked at the bartender. "Put it on my tab, I've got to get the princess home."
Leroy pulled Emma by the arm. She staggered to the exit still holding her glass.
"Hey, Blondie," someone yelled.
Emma looked around and froze. "Belle?" she murmured, blinking a few times to take in the sight of the woman who had half a dozen men hovering around her.
"Want a game?" she asked, holding out the pool cue. "You look like you could use one."
Emma opened her mouth, but Leroy cut her off.
"Hey sister, this one's been cut off and don't think I'm not coming back for you."
"Geez, grumpy, take it easy," Belle said, shrugging and turning around to a chorus of laughter.
"If you only knew," Leroy grumbled. He took the glass from Emma and dropped it on the nearest table. "I'll show you Grumpy."
"Where's Gold?" Emma asked looking around.
"Not here," Leroy said as he pushed her through the door and out onto the street. "Belle had an accident. Memory thing with the border. She's Lacey right now and making a name for herself as the new town drunk."
"That's a problem," Emma said.
"Yeah, well, I can only deal with one thing at a time and right now Belle isn't hurting anything but her liver. You on the other hand have a town full of people who care about you that you are giving the cold shoulder."
Emma huffed, ignoring the dwarf and his wise sentiments.
Leroy held Emma's elbow, ensuring that she didn't trip over the sidewalk or tumble sideways over those plastic decorative fences and into someone's yard as he escorted her home. Emma wanted to complain and yank her arm away but she knew she'd be swimming in someone's bird bath if she did.
"I know what you're thinking," Leroy said.
Emma cocked any eyebrow. "Doubt it." She had actually been thinking about eating a hamburger. She was starving now and being hungry seemed like one of the problems she could actually solve. In a deeper part of her brain Emma was making plans. Ones that involved taking a break from Storybrooke for a while. Henry would be okay for a couple days and that would give her time to clear her head with anyone hanging over her or guilt tripping her.
She needed her car keys, which meant going back to the apartment. One way or another she would be facing Mary Margaret. With any luck her roommate/mother would be asleep and she could get in and get out without any problems or tears. Emma didn't think she could handle anymore tears.
"Give them a chance and go easy on them," Leroy said. "I know you've had it rough and you want to run, but so have they. Giving up your child isn't easy. You should know that more than anyone."
Emma shrugged, shuffling her feet as they came to a stop outside the building where she and Mary Margaret lived.
"Goodnight princess."
"You gunna keep calling me that?" Emma asked.
"Yep."
"Figures."
Leroy turned and walked down the street, stopping on the corner where he would no doubt be keeping watch. It was like having human cameras monitoring her every move.
Emma scanned the street. Everything seemed quiet. She turned and opened the door. She marched up the stairs, using the railing to keep herself from tumbling backwards. It was late, really late now. All she wanted to do was find her bed. Emma slinked down the hallway, feeling along the wall for the door as her eyelids opened and closed of their own accord. She jiggled the doorknob. It was unlocked. She pushed it open, attempting to tiptoe inside.
"Oh, God, you're both here," Emma groaned when the kitchen light snapped on. She held her hands up to shield her eyes. The dim glow might as well have been a spotlight.
"Where have you been," Mary Margaret snapped in a tone that was not very teacher-like. Emma suspected this was overbearing, motherly Snow making up for lost time.
"Henry," she mumbled, attempting to slip out of her boots. She caught her toe on her heel and stumbled into the coat rack. "Damn," she muttered. So maybe she over did it just a little. Maybe she owed Leroy a thank you. If she forced down anymore alcohol she might have been sleeping on the sidewalk tonight.
"You're drunk," Mary Margaret said. She sounded disappointed, but that wasn't what Emma saw on her face. It was more desolation.
Emma shook her head, tipping the other way as she kicked off her shoes. "I'm fine," she said waving off the accusation. "I'm just gunna go upstairs and—"
"Emma, wait," David said, stepping forward. "We just want to talk."
Emma grabbed the railing that led up to her loft and placed her other hand on her hip. "Look, I—"
"Wait, please," Mary Margaret said. "We love you and you are our daughter, even if you can't accept that yet."
Emma turned her head, feeling her eyelids droop. She wasn't in the right mind frame for this.
"Can we talk about this tomorrow?" she asked.
"Emma we've waited so long for you," Mary Margaret said, stepping forward. She had an apron on. In Emma's absence she had taken to baking every boxed cake mix she owned to pass the time.
Emma frowned. Apparently they were going to have this conversation now, whether she was in the right frame of mind or not.
She collapsed on the bottom step of the stairwell and dropped her head in her hands. "I can't do this right now," she said.
"Emma, I know it's hard."
"No David, you don't know. Just because you guys remember who you are now doesn't change the past, well, maybe it does for you guys in a way. Everything you've done for the past twenty eight years has been a lie, a stupid little dream, or nightmare I guess, but me, those last twenty eight years have been my life and you weren't part of it. None of it."
David closed his mouth and frowned. Looking at his wife, he tilted his head. This was not going the way they wanted it to.
"Emma it doesn't matter. We're here now," Mary Margaret told her. She took a tentative step forward. Emma didn't bolt, which was a good sign, but the only reason Emma was still seated was because she didn't think her legs would support her anymore.
"But it does matter," Emma said. "I've made it this long without you. You don't even know who I am."
"Please don't pull away from us," David pleaded.
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Give us a chance," Mary Margaret said. "That's all we want. A chance to make up for all those years. We can be a family. You have Henry and now we have you."
Emma crinkled her forehead. Why did everything in her life have to be so complicated?
"Please Emma, let us get to know you. Let us prove to you that we know who you are. It's not too late," Mary Margaret said.
Emma shook her head. "Thirty years may not be too late," she said. "But it is a long time and I'm not sure I can do this."
She pushed herself to her feet, shaky legs be damned and stumbled back to the door. She riffled through the basket on the hutch for her car keys.
"Emma, don't go where we can't follow. Please," Snow cried. "Not again."
Something in the way Snow whimpered caught Emma's attention. The ache in her voice was raw and hard. Not again. When Emma had gone through the wardrobe her parents couldn't follow. They had no way to get to her. They sacrificed their time with her to save the kingdom, to save everyone, including her. And now she was getting ready to run. Run across the border, once again leaving her parents behind. They couldn't follow her if she chose to leave.
That fact seemed to register with Mary Margaret. She knew what would happen if Emma stepped over that line. She would be gone. They would lose her after they just got her back.
Mary Margaret's legs shook, her knees knocking together. She was terrified, eyes wide, too much white showing. She was heaving frantically. David wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her upright.
It was heart breaking and Emma wanted to slap herself for causing her parents this much pain. She was being ridiculous and selfish. But she also wanted to run. Run to them and run away from them. Her emotions were all over the place, which was probably only compacted by the alcohol. She didn't know what to do.
So she started by dropping her keys back into the basket by the front door.
Later she would claim it was because she was intoxicated and shouldn't be behind the wheel, but in reality she couldn't bear walk away from Henry, or from the two people in front of her. She didn't know how to feel about them; all she knew was that she couldn't leave them.
"Thank you," Snow whispered.
"I'm doing this for Henry," Emma said.
"Of course," Snow agreed. She didn't quite manage to hide the knowing smile.
David smiled too. He had been on the other end of Snow's stubborn-streak long enough to see it in his daughter. She might not be willing to admit that she wanted to stay for them too, but the fact that she was staying spoke volumes. It wasn't a big victory, but one that he would gladly take. All they needed was a chance. A chance to begin again; to be the family they never got to be.
"I still don't know how to do this," Emma mumbled, supporting herself by hanging onto the hutch, "but I'll give it a shot."
"Thank you, Emma," Snow said. "We just want to show you that it isn't too late. We can know you."
"Wonderful," Emma muttered, "now can I go to bed?"
"Not yet," Snow said suddenly and Emma groaned.
David raced forward and helped Emma to the couch, making sure not to crowd her, while Snow went to the kitchen. She returned to Emma with a couple Aspirin and a glass of water. "Take these and drink. You need to hydrate to combat the alcohol."
"Too late," Emma mumbled. But she did as she was told.
Snow exchanged a smile with her husband. After several gulps, Emma's head bobbed and the water glass almost fell from her hand, but David managed to rescue it just as she passed out cold.
"This is not exactly how I imagined it would be the first time we put her to bed," David said with a smirk, having carried Emma up the stairs over his shoulder and deposited her on the bed.
Snow pulled the covers over Emma. She chuckled. "What, you didn't know she would be completely intoxicated?" she said mockingly. "What parenting books have you been reading?"
"I heard that," Emma said. She had her head pressed into the pillow. Her words were muffled and scratchy.
"Good thing you won't remember it in the morning," Snow said lightly.
Emma huffed, once again slipping into a booze-induced fog. Probably not.
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