A/N New chapter guys :). This is a super long one, some truths hit home for Emma and a mysterious woman comes to the town. I hope you like it guys :).
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Chapter Three
Emma was sprawled out on the couch when her mother walked through the door.
"Emma, what exactly did you do to Regina?" she asked.
"I haven't done anything to Regina."
"You must have done something, she comes to Thursday night dinner every Thursday without fail, you turn up and suddenly she's busy."
"Haven't you learnt by now that Regina Mills is a complicated woman."
Emma really wished she knew what was wrong with Regina, if it was anyone else she would just ask them outright but she knew Regina wouldn't tell her. Snow walked into the kitchen, grabbed a beer from the fridge and walked back to her daughter.
"Here, how long are you planning on staying?" she asked.
"Well my car won't be fixed for at least a week, maybe ten days. Once it's back on the roads I will be heading back."
"Emma, you should really buy a more reliable car."
"Fuck me, did you and Regina arrange to have an intervention about my car because she said the same. I can just about afford to live let alone buy a new car. So please just drop it" she huffed.
Snow sat down next to Emma and placed her hand on her daughter's knee.
"Emma, you know if you moved back here money wouldn't be a problem. You could stay here for a couple of months, go back to being sheriff and when you've given the dwarfs enough notice you can have your house back."
Emma knew Snow was right, she hated living in Boston and she really missed her family. She wasn't sure if moving back home was right for her but then again, she wasn't sure if going back to Boston was right either.
"I will think about it" she sighed.
"That's all I'm asking, why don't you go unpack and then take a shower ready for tonight."
Emma finished her beer, walked over to the fridge and grabbed another one.
"I'm going to drink this then have a lie down, my head is pounding."
Snow took the beer out of Emma's hand.
"If your head is hurting I don't think it's a wise idea to be drinking."
"You might be right" Emma sighed.
"Haven't you learnt by now that your mother is always right."
Snow placed the beer on the kitchen counter just as her phone started to vibrate. She picked up the phone, checked the message and placed it in her back pocket.
"Who was that?"
"It was Henry, he wanted me to know that he's convinced Regina to come tonight."
"Henry is back, I thought he wasn't back until Saturday?. I'm glad Regina is able to make it, it will be nice for us to have a proper family meal, it's been a while."
"Henry came home early to surprise Regina. I'm sorry to say this Emma, but we've had lots of family meals since you've been gone. We didn't stop being a family because you left."
"I don't get it."
"What do you mean?"
"Every single one of you told me I was doing the right thing, well all of you expect Regina who didn't speak to me before I left. I've come home and all of you are acting like I just abandoned you."
"We told you to go because we thought it was what you needed. But to be honest Em, you did abandon us. In the two and a half years, you've been gone you never once visited or invited us to see you. It's almost as if you went back to the old Emma Swan, the one before you knew you had a family" Snow sighed.
Emma knew it was true, she didn't mean to cut ties with everyone but it was easier that way.
"I'm sorry."
Emma wasn't sure what else she could say, she knew she was in the wrong but there was nothing she could do to change it.
"It's okay, just try and do better when you go back. Come and visit at holidays, invite us to come and stay with you and keep in contact."
"I will try and do better. I'm going to have a lie down."
"Okay, well I'm going to pick Neal up from his play date. I should be home in about an hour so make the most of the peace and quiet."
Snow headed to the kitchen, grabbed herself a bottle of water and left to pick Neal up. Emma knew she should probably have a shower before tonight but she was exhausted. Her head started to feel fuzzy and she wasn't sure if she would even make it upstairs. She sat down on the edge of the couch and closed her eyes. Emma wasn't sure how long she had been asleep for but she knew it was longer than an hour.
"Mum, can I show Emma my drawing now?" Neal asked.
"Wait until your sister is awake."
"She is awake" he huffed.
"Neal what have I told you about lying?" she asked.
"That if I lie my nose will grow like Pinocchio but Mum I'm not lying."
Emma sat up, pulled Neal onto her lap and started to tickle him. She couldn't believe that her little brother who was just one and a half when she left would be turning five on Saturday.
"Hey Buddy, what's this drawing you want to show me then?" Emma asked.
Neal jumped off Emma's lap, skipped over to the table, grabbed the drawing then jumped back over to Emma. Emma looked at the drawing it was pretty good considering a four-year-old drew it.
"What is it then?" Emma asked.
"It's our family silly. There's Mum, Dad, Henry, Aunty Gina, Belle, Ruby, Esme and you" he explained.
Emma looked at Snow and raised her eyebrows. She didn't have a clue why Neal would be calling his step grandmother Aunty.
"Aunty Gina?"
"Regina didn't want to be Grandma Gina which I understand. We decided that Aunty Gina would be easier for everyone and after all that's what Esme calls her as well."
"I understand that, what I don't understand is when Regina started letting anyone call her Gina?"
"She doesn't let any of us call her Gina, just Neal and Esme. It was easier for them to say than Regina. Even though she says she hates it, deep down I think she likes having a nickname."
"Where did you say I was on this picture then buddy?" Emma asked.
She looked real hard but she couldn't figure out which one she was.
"You are over there."
Emma looked to where Neal was pointing and sighed. He had drawn her on the back of the page, she was in her little yellow bug with a sign over her saying we miss you.
She tried to hide her disappointment, she wasn't hiding it from Neal because he wouldn't understand why she was upset but she knew Snow would.
"That's really great kid."
Emma picked Neal up, placed him on the floor in front of her and ran off to the bathroom. She locked the door, sat on the floor and leaned her head against the door. She knew she had no one to blame but herself but she had missed so much. She wished she had come back sooner, but as it was her fault she couldn't mope around. She pushed herself up off the floor, turned the cold tap on and splashed some cold water on her face. She heard more voices coming from the living room, she pulled open the door and joined her family. Ruby walked over to her best friend and pulled her into a hug.
"I've missed you so much."
"I'm sorry, I haven't been in touch" Emma sighed.
"Don't worry about it, I understand you've been busy. How about you come and say hello to your niece."
Emma walked over to Neal and Esme, she knelled down in front of the little girl. She had dark brown eyes, light brown hair and the biggest dimples Emma had ever seen on a child. She was the spitting image of both her mothers and Emma was glad Regina could make it so Esme would be a mix of Ruby and Belle.
"Hello beautiful girl, I've missed you."
"I'm not allowed to talk to strangers, sorry" Esme explained.
She ran over to her mothers and hid behind Ruby's leg. Belle knelt in front of Esme and scooped her daughter into her arms.
"Esme, this is your Aunty Emma. Say hello."
"Mummy don't be silly, I don't have an Aunty Emma. I only have an Aunty Snow and Aunty Gina" Esme huffed.
"You were just a baby the last time I saw you, that's why you don't recognise me."
Emma walked over to the kitchen counter, grabbed her wallet and pulled out a picture before walking back to Esme. She knelt in front of the little girl and showed her the picture.
"See that's you and I on your first birthday."
"It sort of looks like me, but if you're my aunty then why didn't you come to my other birthdays or give me presents?"
Emma had to admit the kid was very smart for her age, she must get that from Belle because Ruby lacked any sort of brains but she did have lots of common sense.
"I'm sorry."
Esme wrapped her little arms around Emma's neck and kissed her cheek.
"It's okay."
She let go of the blonde, hopped off her lap and ran back over to Neal. Emma was surprised how forgiving the little girl was and she wished the rest of her family could be like that.
"Emma, were going to head to Granny's are you coming with us?" Snow asked.
"I'm going to get changed and then I will come over."
"Your father is meeting us there after he's bailed Leeroy out so you might see him on the way."
Belle picked up Esme and grabbed hold of Ruby's hand.
"We will see you at Granny's then Em."
Belle, Ruby, Esme, Snow and Neal all headed off to Granny's leaving Emma on her own. She took off her current tank top, opened her bag and pulled out a white tank top. She pulled the tank top over her head, ran her fingers through her hair and decided it was time to leave. She knew if she didn't head to Granny's soon someone would come to find her. She closed her eyes and a few seconds later she appeared outside Granny's. Emma looked in the window and could see everyone was already in there waiting for her. She took a deep breath, walked up the steps and pushed the door open. Emma wasn't sure how everyone was going to react to her being back, she just hoped it wasn't going to be awkward. As she expected the first person to come over to her was Henry.
"Ma, I've missed you. Grandma said you're thinking about moving back."
Emma pulled Henry into a hug and kissed the top of his head.
"I missed you too kid and yes I'm thinking about it."
Henry pulled away from the hug and sighed.
"I hope you decide to stay, it's not the same without you."
"Can you go and get me a drink while I speak to Ruby and Belle?"
"Yes of course I can."
Henry walked away to get Emma her drink and Emma headed over to Ruby and Belle.
"Can I ask you both a question?"
"Shoot."
"Do you think I abandoned you all when I left for Boston?"
Both Ruby and Belle looked down to the floor.
"I don't know what you want us to say Emma."
"The truth" Emma sighed.
"Okay then. Well when your marriage went down in flames, you did what you always do and you ran. You didn't think how it would affect the rest of us. You were selfish Em and you can't except everyone to forgive you right away."
Emma knew she was right, she was being selfish when she packed up and left. She didn't think how it would affect her family, she just left.
From the second Emma walked into Granny's Regina couldn't take her eyes off the blonde and she wasn't sure why. She loved how Emma looked in a tank top and the fact Emma was wearing a white tank top with a black bra made it even harder to look away. After a few more minutes of watching Emma, Regina decided it was time to make her move. She downed her drink, straightened out her dress and pushed herself out of the booth. She knew if she didn't at least try and explain her feelings to Emma she never would. She didn't want Emma to leave without knowing how she felt, after all she owed it to herself to try and get some sort of happiness.
"Emma can I talk you to a moment?"
"Yeah sure."
Regina looked at Ruby and Belle then back to Emma.
"I meant alone"
Ruby gave Regina a knowing look, she grabbed Belles arm and pulled her away.
"Oh, is everything okay?" she asked.
"Maybe it's better if we discuss this outside."
Regina placed her hand on the door and was just about to open it when the door swung forward and knocked her to the ground.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry."
Regina looked up at the person holding their hand out to help her up. She hadn't ever seen this woman in town before and for some reason the woman made her feel awfully uneasy. Regina pushed herself up off the floor, dusted off her dress and looked over to Emma. The blonde had turned a light shade of white, it was almost as if she had seen a ghost. A few seconds later and the woman was surrounded by half the town.
"I am really sorry about knocking you down, I wasn't sure if I had the right place and when I realised I did, I got rather excited."
"It's perfectly fine, no harm was done."
"That's okay then, I wouldn't have made a good first impression if I had sent someone to hospital my first night in town. Can I just say this is a very strange looking town and I've never heard of it before."
Regina realised with this woman in town she would need to limit her magic to a minimum. She had no idea who this woman was or even how she knew to find the town. After a few seconds Regina remembered she lifted the cloak on the town so that Henry and the others could come back from college with no problems. She was going to put it back on Saturday after Henry had arrived. It still didn't explain why the young woman was there, if you didn't know about StoryBrooke you wouldn't come looking for it.
"Dear, you still haven't introduced yourself or explained what you're doing in my town. We never get visitors so it's rather odd for you to just show up here" Regina stated.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Yes, you keep saying that but we're no closer to knowing who you are."
Snow walked over to Regina, placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear.
"Be nice."
Regina had noticed Emma had slipped away to the back of the crowd and she wasn't sure why.
"Let me try this again, my name is Jasmin Davies, I'm here to see my girlfriend."
"Nice to meet you Miss Davies, who exactly is your girlfriend?" Regina questioned.
Jasmine walked through the crowd of people and stopped right in front of Emma.
"I'm sure you all know my girlfriend and Emma I'm rather insulted you haven't told your friends about me."
Emma didn't know what to think or what to say. She didn't expect Jas to turn up out of the blue and as for calling Emma her girlfriend that was a big surprise. Emma started to feel dizzy, she wasn't sure if it was from her head injury earlier or the fact she had a lot of explaining to do. Henry stepped out from behind his grandparents and walked over to Emma.
"Ma, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend" he sighed.
"Ma, is that some sort of nickname?" Jas asked
Regina could tell Emma had clearly only dated Jasmine based on her looks because what else did the young woman really have going for herself.
"No, Emma is my mother" Henry huffed.
"Emma, is this boy okay? I'm sorry kid but Emma doesn't have a son."
Emma could see the hurt on Henrys face and so could Regina.
"Dear, come on let's head home."
Regina wrapped her arms around Henrys shoulders and led him out of Granny's. Emma chased after them, just as she got to the door she realised she needed to get Jas out of there before she said something stupid.
"So where did you meet Emma?" Snow asked.
Emma realised she probably hurt her parents too, she couldn't explain any of her situation to Jas so if she asked Emma would just tell her Snow and David were her friends.
"We met in a strip club about 3 months ago."
"Oh, so you work in a strip club?" Ruby questioned.
"No, Emma does."
Everyone turned to look at Emma, who was now stood at the door of Granny's with her head down and was slowly turning a deep shade of red. She was so ashamed, she hoped her family would never find that out. Emma stormed over to Jas grabbed her arm and pulled her out of Granny's.
"Em what the hell."
Henry and Regina were sat on the bench outside Granny's.
"There's a bar over there, here's some money. Buy yourself a drink and don't speak to anyone" Emma ordered.
"You're no fun" Jas wined
"Go."
Jas made her way over to the Rabbit Hole. Emma walked over to the bench and sat next to Henry.
"Kid, please let me explain" she pleaded.
"You have one minute."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell Jas about you. She's not really my girlfriend it's just a bit of fun. We haven't been dating that long and well when we spend time together we don't do much talking."
Shit Emma knew she shouldn't have said that.
"That's gross."
"Miss Swan, that's not something you should be telling a teenager. I think your minute is up. I will be taking MY son home and when you've gotten rid of that woman then and only then may you come and apologise."
Regina and Henry stood up and walked to Regina's car.
"I get why Henry is pissed but I've haven't done anything to hurt you" Emma called.
"You have no idea" Regina muttered.
She climbed into the car and drove off, leaving Emma standing alone outside Granny's wondering what the hell had just happened.