Part 7
It was quite the celebration at the Mills mansion that night. The Mother Superior, aka the Blue Fairy, only told Henry Mills that Emma went on Sheriff's duty and that she should be back late. 10:30 was not that late, but Henry was sleepy when Blue opened the door.
It was all they could do to keep Reul Ghorm from screaming with joy when Archie crossed the threshold. Nuns are not supposed to kiss a man, especially the way Blue kissed Archie. But then blue was not a nun. But fairy's aren't supposed to kiss a human either. At this time, Blue couldn't give a damn.
One by one they walked in happy as hell, save for one. Regina was the last to walk through the threshold of her own door. Regina's dark brown eyes were sad. Blue's light brown eyes were a mix of emotions. The fairy hated Regina for what she thought the mayor did to Archie...her Jiminy. But not only was Blue wrong...not only was everyone else wrong...but he was alive and well.
"I'm sorry." They were the only words Reul Ghorm could say.
"So am I. For everything." They were the only words Regina Mills can say.
The brief silence between them was the sound of another wound healing.
"ARCHIE!" The sound that can only come from an excited boy came from Henry Mills. He rushed towards his therapist, who, even if he was Jiminy Cricket, also was the closest thing to a father he had know for most of his short life. Then, with tears of complete happiness and relief streaming from his face, he looked at the throng of heroes before him. Snow White, Prince Charming, Red Riding Hood, and the Saviour. What froze him in his tracks was the presence of the Evil Queen.
"Regina saved Archie." Snow looked at her Prince Charming with love and adoration, because for all that had come before James and Regina, for James to say those three words took a lot. Regina simply bowed her head, raised it, and looked back at Charming. And then Henry attached himself to his adopted mother, saying over and over "I love you Mom...I'm sorry.."
Emma just stood there, silently taking it all in...when Regina grabbed her right arm and pulled the sheriff to the mayor and the kid.
Archie was smiling. Blue was crying. Snow was beaming. And Charming was wondering what the hell was going on.
The next day, Snow and Charming were out looking for a new home. Let's face it, they needed a bigger place and they did not need a repeat of the events of the the other day when daughter and grandson walked in, post-screw.
As they went from vacant house yo vacant house, Snow's marvel at Regina's creation grew more and more. She definitely could have created a hell hole of infinite proportions. But the little community on the coast of Maine that she created was idyllic. Almost heaven.
They both couldn't find anything. And along the way David was talking about home. About the Enchanted Forest. Something that Grumpy said after the funeral got him homesick.
When they got back to Granny's for lunch, they talked. They talked about home. They talked about Storybrooke. They talked about Regina. And Emma. And second chances.
"But why, Snow? I mean...do I have to go down the list of all the things...that witch...has done to us? To you?
Snow White was frustrated. She understood her husband. And she understood that there was good and evil and the lone between them was solid. But she noticed things. That the Blue fairy could be at time duplicitous. That the Dark One could be capable of love. That the woman she thought was the epitome of evil also was a loving mother...the kind of mother Snow wished she had again.
And she also thought of her Prince Charming. That loyal rock-ribbed man who also had to lie to two women to keep from hurting both. And herself. One night, Emma and Mary-Margaret were watching a movie called "I'm No Angel." The one that Mae West said "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted." Snow remembered she drifted with Dr. Whale. Once. But that was enough.
Ever since the arrival of Emma Swan, that damned line between Good and Evil blurred to a point where it almost didn't exist. All that was in her mind when she answered Charming's question..
"Charming, love...I know what she has done. I.." She paused. Gathered herself. "I know she had something to do with what happened with my daddy. But I also know what my daddy did to her. Wasn't that big of a secret. I can over hear maids and cooks. I could figure some things out.
"But this is a different place. I'm not really Snow White and you're not really Prince James...at least not here. And Regina's not the Evil Queen. She's just a hardass mayor who got things done."
"Hardass, Snow?"
Snow smirked, "My daughter has been a bad influence on me..." That got a laugh out of Charming.
"What I am saying is that maybe we have all done it wrong. We've been following some script that someone laid out for us. Maybe its time we got off the script. Maybe it's time we gave this Regina a shot. Accept her as she is, not...mold her into what we wanted her to be. I want to try...and Emma already has..."
"Which brings me, love, to that little display back at the Jolly Roger...I mean...Emma and Regina...ahh..."
"The word, Charming, is kissing. You know...what we do a lot of..." A wink and a big smile from Snow, then. "Are you telling me you have a problem with two women together, cause if you do, I'll just tell Red..."
"Honey you know that absurd. But...Emma and...Regina?"
"Look, I don't know if it has happened yet. Am I totally comfortable with that...not really. But just as we need to trust Regina we need to trust Emma too..."
A few grumbling noises and a few eye rolls to the sky, and then Charming finally responded to his wife: "Ok, love. I'll take it one step at a time.." He smiled as scooted his chair over to Snow, who promptly gave him a big wet one on the lips. "But Snow, I swear to the Gods, if Regina harms our little girl in any way..."
"Don't worry, honey...if that happens, I will find the tree...the ropes..and the horse." She smiled as she leaned in on Charming for a kiss, happily secure in the knowledge she would not need either.
TBC
Well, I do not know how far this will go. Should we incorporate the reunion between Cora and Regina?
How far we go will depend on the reaction from the readers. And I must admit that I have been humbled by all of the positives so far. Jane, I hope that I applied my lessons well.
Again, fed pigeons are happy pigeons.
You know who owns what.