A/N: Brought to you by more hateful reviewers. Please note that there is a discussion of Robin's rape by Zelena in this chapter. If you are triggered by that please do not read.
That Monday at school was when she heard the whispers as she was moving through the crowd of students. "Of course she's like them, look at her mother, look at what she did to her father!" "You can't expect anything but a rotten apple from that tree." "Of course she didn't get in trouble for nearly killing him..."
The first time she heard the word rapist she just stood stock still unable to process it. Well that was until Phil punched the boy in the face and he went down like a sack of cement. And then they both ended up in the principal's office.
"Am ... am in trouble?" Emily asked when Ms. Blanchard came in. "Philip was defending me ..."
"No you aren't in trouble. I've called your parents though because I thought they should pull you out of school for the rest of the day."
She looked over at Phil who had an ice back on his hand, "I'm sorry you got in trouble."
"I'm not." He said with a shrug. "I'll take my punishment but that was a terrible thing he said to you."
Philip and Aurora arrived not long after and disappeared into the inner office with him, but he didn't seem quite so resigned. Aurora sat down next to her while Phil left with his dad, "Are you alright, Emily?"
"Yeah I guess. Please don't be mad at Phil..."
"I'm not mad at Phil at all. Don't worry. I think I probably would have hit the boy too if I'd been there." She glanced over at Mary Margaret, "But I don't come from this world and standing on honor is a value of the world. I understand why the school has to suspend him but that doesn't mean he's in trouble at home. Do you mind if I sit with you until your parents come?"
"I guess not."
And for some reason the utter normality of the conversation that followed, about riding and learning to drive, and basically anything other than what was on her mind was exactly what Emily needed. She wasn't crying by the time her dad arrived and she even managed to smile when he gave her a hug. Princess Aurora gave her a warm smile, "Come over to dinner sometime this week Emily. We'd love to have you."
"Thanks," was all she could manage before Phil's mother left. "I'm in trouble aren't I?"
"No," Robin said with a smile but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I thought since Mary Margaret is giving you the rest of the day off from school we would go turkey hunting so we can horrify your mother when I clean the bird in the back yard."
"She's not horrified so much as she feels like she can do it with magic cleaner."
He pondered it, "I suppose she isn't that disturbed by blood."
"Noooooo..." Emily said with a chuckle.
They drove Robin's green Land Rover up into the hills and Emily saw that both their crossbows and orange vests were in the back.
"Are you sure we should have the conversation armed?"
"I'll take my chances." Robin chuckled, "I've had mostly good luck with Mills women."
They started walking along the trails that wild turkeys could be expected and she said nothing for a long time. "The boy Phil punched said that Zelena was a rapist. That the evil was in my blood."
Robin flinched, "Zelena is, like Regina, someone who made mistakes and did horrible things in the past. Including to me. But she's doing good now and second chances are what makes the heroes in our family."
She stopped walking, pointing her bow at the ground, "So he's right? She... I..."
Robin sighed and sat down on a tree stump. "When Zelena was still trying to destroy Regina, she concocted a rather elaborate plan that involved time travel and pretending to be my first love Marian. We lived together for two months in New York City under that ruse and you were conceived during that time. She thought that having my child would hurt Regina, and me, though I doubt very much she saw anyone as a person except Regina." She felt like she wanted to vomit, and steadied herself against a tree while he continued. "I decided that once she'd started on a better path that it was best for you to have her in your life but I'll admit that I don't much like being around her still."
She inhaled, "That's why you always seem to find somewhere else to be when she comes over."
"A lot of the time yes. She's doing better and I'm glad for her. And I've forgiven her... but sometimes when I see her I still see the woman who killed Marian... and violated me."
"And I..."
"None of that has anything to do with you Emily." He got up and touched her face before leaning in to touch his forehead to hers. "You are my daughter and nothing about what Zelena did 16 years ago changes that."
She didn't pull away from him right away, needing the reassurance before she spoke. "And the ... the whole town has known... all this time? And you never told me?"
"Storybrooke is bigger than you'd think but our crazy extended family tends to draw a lot of attention. Not many people knew the details but the math isn't hard to do. We were going to tell you when you were ready but ..."
"You never found the time."
He shrugged, "Regina and I were afraid that you would feel unwanted. We ... we've tried to make sure you knew how much we loved you your entire life."
"How ... how am I supposed to look at her now?"
He shrugged, "That's really up to you. She knows this day has been coming. Whatever you decide we'll still be there for you."
She looked into her father's eyes, "Why does it have to be so hard? Why can't I be like everyone else?"
He wiped a tear from her face, "Because everyone else has their own struggles too. If you were them you'd have their struggles and not your own." He kissed her forehead. "Now pick up your bow and we'll see if we can find a turkey."
