Emma Swann sat on the stool at Granny's counter staring at a cup of untouched cocoa. The liquid had long since turned cold as had Emma's mind as she numb herself over and over with thoughts of Regina Mills. The Sheriff knew she had to do something. If she kept putting it off Regina would slide further into the shadows instead of coming closer to the light as she had those short months ago. Emma Swann could wait the stubborn older woman out or she could take charge and make things happen on her own time line. Emma thought that was a much better plan, if she let Regina dictate the pace they would both be dead and in the ground a century before she ever gave two inches. Standing up Emma placed a couple of bills beside the full cup, nodded at the weekend waitress and moved to the door. It was terribly early still Emma hadn't even bothered to go back to her room at the B she had walked through the bitter cold night, enjoying the sting of the air.
Emma left the diner and walked towards her parent's apartment. David would be heading to the Sheriffs office for the weekend shift and Snow would be up with Neil, or at least that is what Emma had hoped. She needed advice; about what she didn't know, but she needed advice none the less. Trudging up the stairs took more effort than Emma realized it should have needed. She was exhausted and frozen to the bone. Knocking quietly on the door as to not startle her little brother; Emma waited for one of the occupants to answer the door. It took a moment before a blurry eyed Snow White opened the door with a yawn in greeting. Emma felt the pang of guilt at having disturbed her parents' morning especially at; the clock over Snow Whites head stated five thirty in the morning. Ouch she really would have to make this one up with a promise to watch Neil in the afternoon so her mother could sleep.
"Emma; honey, what's wrong?" Big doe brown eyes looked up at Emma trying to gauge what could have the normally reserved woman up and frazzled at so early a time. Yawning again Snow stepped to the side and allowed Emma Swann into the apartment. She pulled the robe she had thrown around her petite frame tight against the cool wind that Emma brought as she slouched past. The kitchen light was the only light on, the house otherwise silent. Emma again felt the pain of guilt; maybe she should just go back to her room and sleep the day away. Tomorrow would bring answers; right? Too late for that idea Swann you're already in your mother's kitchen.
Snow put the kettle on for coffee sliding a plate of muffins across the table to where Emma had sat down at the table silently putting her head in her hands. She hadn't even stripped off her heavy leather jacket when she came in the door; now Snow could feel the cold radiating from her daughter in a physical and mental way. Seating herself across the table from the blonde; Snow waited for the kettle to boil and wait for Emma to finally drum up the courage to talk about why she was there so early in the morning.
"Darling, what has got you up so early in the morning? Couldn't sleep?"
"I haven't been home yet so technically it's still late for me. Really, really late."
"Where have you been all night?" Snow held quiet council waiting for the next sting of answers to come from her clearly troubled and exhausted daughter.
"I started off at Regina's, she asked me to help out with the kids apparently she was babysitting so that Marion and Robin could spend time together."
"That was awful magnanimous of her." Snow addressed the thought that Regina was being civil about the whole affair was still disconcerting but she was trying to work through her doubts.
"Then it was the docks, the office, City Hall, back to stare at Regina's house, Mr. Gold's shop; it was closed of course, Granny's and now here." Emma fiddled with the cuff of her coat before she huffed and pulled it off letting it fall haphazardly on the back of the kitchen chair.
"Well now that you have sufficiently enlarged the hole in the ozone, with that bug of yours, why don't you tell me why you went to all those places?"
"I needed air so I walked." Snow stared through Emma, trying to see something beyond the lank blonde hair, reddened green eyes and pale skin that she just realized was tinged the faintest shade of blue.
"Dear God, Emma you could have frozen to death." Flying into action Snow grabbed an afghan off the back of the couch and threw it around Emma's shoulders just as the young woman started to shiver uncontrollably. Internally Snow didn't think it was just the cold that caused such violent action in the young woman. The kettle was just in the first low whistle when Snow snatched it from the burner before it could wake up the entire household; pouring the water and coffee, sugar, creamer together before presenting it to Emma who wrapped her hands around the cup like a life line. "What on earth has got you so rattled that you would wander around town in the dead of night?" Snow redeposited herself into the chair after making her own mug of coffee.
Emma sat staring at the dark liquid for what seemed like ages her mind whirling into a million different directions. She couldn't tell her mother her plan; she would just tell her that it wasn't worth the price. All magic comes with a price and sometimes it's a very steep price. Emma didn't care the price she wanted the outcome and would pay anything for it. The woman had actually said as much last night, if Regina had actually been listening.
"Can I ask you about love?" Emma said quietly finally raising the coffee mug to her lips. The hot liquid was another welcome pain as it burned through her mouth and throat.
Snow White leaned back in her chair crossing her arms over her chest as she looked gobbed smacked across the table. This was definitely not what she anticipated this morning. "Ask me an easier question please. Like why Fairytale Land exists or why fairy dust comes from mines." Emma smirked at her witticism only nodded her head in time to the answer. "What about love honey? There are many types of love."
"Don't I know it; now." Emma pulled back and shuffled the afghan around her shoulders again. Taking another swallow of hot liquid, she winced and looked into the face of her mother. "I know that there are different types of love, but in my world; this world, there are only a couple of kinds; romantic love, familial love, unconditional love for ones parents and children. But these worlds you, David and everyone else come from have different rules. Even for love; and its aggravating. True Love, Soul Mates, Blood Magic. I want to scream whenever someone even thinks about these things. And I just want to finally understand all the differences. What is love and what is magic; how do they mix and so on." Emma shrugged her shoulders and dropped her gaze back to the table.
"Wow honey. That's a lot to take in. I guess I can start with the easiest. Well for me anyways. True Love. David and I share true love. It was a connection made between our hearts and souls the moment we met. It transcends space and time. I could always tell if he was in trouble or hurt, sick, angry. It wasn't an 'I know he is in trouble' or 'I know where he is' it was just a nagging feeling that something was wrong. When I crushed David's to enact the second curse; Regina broke my heart in two so that he could live with half and I could live with half. That was only possible because of our true love."
Emma nodded her head to the story up until the part where Snow told of using her fathers' heart to enact the second curse. Though it was declared that day months ago in the boat house that they were the ones to bring about the curse; no one had bothered to ask how. Now it became clear for the curse you had to give up the thing you love the most, in this case David, but the sharing of one heart…this gave Emma something to think about.
"I never knew that. The sharing of hearts I mean. Is it safe? What would happen if one of you died?" The questions swirled around in Emma's mind. True love can share hearts.
"I don't know. In fact no one knows. And Regina was very reluctant to even try it in the first place. It very well could have killed us both and she said as much. But she tried and it worked. She saved both David and myself, and Neil come to think of it."
"Can you have more than one true love?" Emma had finally stopped shivering and loosened her grip on the afghan; color finally returning to her cheeks.
"No only one true love. And only one soul mate. Soul mates are a bit different than true love. You share a kindred experience; a deeper understanding of the person. Not necessarily with this transcend into romantic love but it can. It comes down to feeling as though you have known a person your whole life without ever having met. It is the shared experiences in each other's lives that draw the two together. Death is a typical trigger for soul mates. If the two of you have lost a significant person in your lives it could trigger that experience." Snow stood to refill her cup with coffee. "Soul mates have very little magic between them, if any. There have only been a very few cases of soul mates that I know of."
"Robin is Regina's soul mate. Tinkerbell revealed that to a young Regina a long time ago. They didn't finally connect until the second curse and then I screwed that up. That is why she took it so hard that I brought Marion back." Emma sounded quiet and defeated. "I keep taking away her happiness. First Henry, then her town, and now Robin. Now wonder she hates me so bad."
"Emma, not a single part of this is your fault. Well not solely your fault; there are things at work beyond us. Fate has a strange way of twisting and turning, making everything seem out of sorts, when really it is exactly as it should be. Regina and Robin were not meant to be together right now. That is not your fault." Snow reached her hand across the table to hold Emma's but as their hands touched Emma jumped from her chair and looked to the clock; seven a.m. Maybe Gold would be up and around by now.
"I gotta go run some errands. Thank you for the coffee and your advice. I will come by later; after everyone is up and we can hang out then. Maybe I can watch Neil for a little while so you and David can get out." Emma pulled her red leather jacket back around her frame.
"Be careful, Emma. Love is a strange thing; and people do crazy things for love and when they are in love. Whatever you are up to just please; be safe." Snow hugged her oldest child goodbye and softly closed the door as she exited the apartment.
"Oh Emma; why did you have to fall in love with her?" Snow sorrowfully shook her head and went to check on baby Neil.