a/n: prompt from sara hail. Emma and Regina (+ a toddler) vs. Charming and spanking. Hope you enjoy! (p.s. check out the other story I'm working on right now called La Conte de Madame Peugeot. It's a slow burn ReginaxOC with lots of angst and adventure!) x
Of course she trusted her dad with her daughter. Sure, he often wielded a sword and made a habit out of carrying a gun at all times, but he was a good parent to Neal and he was a good babysitter for Lucy. Nevertheless, she and her wife always felt the need to make sure that Mary Margaret knew each of their cells by heart and when put Lucy down for a nap and how she liked her apples and what toy would get her to stop crying. Mary Margaret assured them (multiple times) that she and David could handle Lucy just fine in the three hours Emma and Regina would be out to dinner.
But as Regina started her usual speech about Lucy's blanket they heard a strange exclamation from the other room and then Lucy's wailing. The blood drained from Emma's face as she and Regina immediately made their way to the living room where they found David bent down next to a hysterical Lucy. Her three year old face was beet red and drenched in tears. "What happened?" Regina exclaimed accusingly as she strode to Lucy and swept the little girl into her arms. Emma placed her hands on her hips as David stood up.
Lucy fisted Regina's nice blouse but Emma could tell that she couldn't have cared less at the moment. Charming had made her daughter cry, and if Emma didn't find out what had happened Regina was going to go all Evil Queen on him. "Lucy bit me." David stated firmly as Mary Margaret walked up next to Emma.
"But why is she crying?" Emma asked firmly, her brow furrowed in a mix of anger and concern. Regina was busy trying calm Lucy down but she was most definitely still listening.
"Well, I spanked her." He supplied, motioning to the toddler casually, and Emma's eyebrows shot to her hairline. Regina froze what she was doing and the room fell silent except for Lucy's crying.
"You hit my child?" Regina asked, her lip curling and her face darkening so much that Emma almost thought that David was going to burst into flames any moment.
"Gina," Emma sighed, placing a hand on her wife's arm. Regina glared at Emma and the blonde just nodded softly. She turned to David. "We don't hit our children." She supplied firmly.
David motioned to Lucy casually. "She's only three it's not like I whipped her." Both Emma and Regina winced at his choice of words. "I just wanted to teach her that biting is wrong."
"Spanking was very popular in the Enchanted Forest." Mary Margaret pointed out, stepping up next to David. "It builds character." Emma sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, mom, Regina and I know all about how hitting your child is supposed to build their character." Emma drawled. "We just…" She trailed off and turned to her wife who nodded. "We don't want them to have to go through the same thing we did."
"We've been through enough hitting in our lives not to want the same for our children, no matter how…beneficial you think it may seem. It's damaging and degrading and Emma and I won't stand for it." Regina explained and the Charmings looked at them as if they were seeing them for the first time.
They realized that that had been the first time Lucy had ever been spanked—and evidently the last. And because Lucy was only three so she was understandably a little confused. Didn't her grandpa love her? Why was he hitting her? And thinking back on everything Emma and Regina had said in the last few minutes the Charmings could easily piece together that the two women had been victims of child abuse.
"Emma," Mary Margaret breathed, stepping towards her daughter. She'd never known. Neither of them had ever known she or Regina had suffered so much.
"I don't really want to talk about this right now." Emma breathed, not quite looking at her parents who respectfully gave the family their space. Mary Margaret and David could hear Emma and Regina reprimanding Lucy for biting and observed them closely. If their granddaughter was ever going to stay over at their house again they needed to know how Emma and Regina wanted Lucy to be disciplined.
For a long time after that incident Mary Margaret and David struggled but strived to understand Emma's past and the reasons behind Lucy's lack of physical punishment. It was difficult to get the very traditionally guarded women to open up but when they did Mary Margaret and David never even considering spanking Neal ever again.
It was awkward for a little bit with the Charmings fussing over them all the time—making sure they were happy. But when everything finally settled down into a routine again Lucy had completely forgotten about being spanked and Emma and Regina still loved their baby girl to bits. And even without spanking Lucy was turning into a sweet girl with good manners and character—and quite the funny little character Lucy Goosey was.
