Crimson Tattoos
Chapter 7
Disclaimers::: I do not own OUAT or its characters, just my imagination. I have a few surprises planned. Of course something else will come up to put certain things on hold, but all good things come to those who wait… Enough with this cryptic message, on with the story lol….
Emma woke up to the sound of Regina being sick in the bathroom. She quickly got up and moved to check in her wife. She found her kneeling on the bathroom floor with her head in the toilet. She moved to help her hold her hair out of the way. "I'm right here baby." She helped her until she got it out of her system. "You alright now?"
Regina stood up and nodded before she went to rinse her mouth out and brushed her teeth to get the taste out of her mouth. She turned to look at Emma. "I've never gotten sick before in my entire life."
Emma smiled at her wife. "Do you think you might be pregnant?"
Regina's eyes grew wide. "I don't think that is possible because a long time ago when I was forced to marry Snow White's father, I made a potion to prevent myself from producing a heir for that bastard…" Emma could see the wheels turning in her head.
"We've shared a True Love's kiss. Maybe that also broke that spell you put on yourself. I mean, you said yourself you've never been sick before until now." Emma pointed out. "Remember I have been through this before. It's possible you could be, you know. You do smell different."
Regina looked at Emma. "I smell?"
Emma chuckled. "Not like that. You have a certain scent in you that says you're pregnant." Emma stepped closer, putting her hand on her flat abdomen and caressing her there. She inhaled deeply, feeling intoxicated by her mate's scent.
Regina gasped, seeing the way Emma was touching her and looking at her. It was doing things to her. She thought about it and realized it was true. "We're having a baby?"
Emma smiled, "We are." She murmured sensually. "I love you my Queen." She kissed her passionately. "Let's take a shower together."
Regina smiled and nodded. "Yes, let's." They took a shower and showed each other how much they were in love, taking care to make sure every inch was given attention. They brought each other to climax before cleaning each other up.
A hour later, they finally made their way to the kitchen where Maleficent, Lily and Henry were getting ready to eat breakfast. Maleficent and Lily had a knowing smile on their faces as they looked at them. Emma smiled back at them and nodded knowingly. It was clear the three of them were communicating using telepathy. The other dragons had heard Regina get up that morning.
Maleficent looked very happy. "May I say congratulations?" Her eyes twinkled.
Lily grinned at the look of confusion on Henry's face as he looked up. "What's going on?"
Emma shared a look with Regina and saw she was blushing, not from embarrassment. She looked at their son and smiled. "How do you feel about being a big brother?"
Henry's eyes grew wide. "Which one of you is…"
Regina smiled. "I am. I never thought it could happen to me, but it has."
"But how? Who…" Henry was confused.
Emma smiled. "Me. I gave your mom a True Love's kiss and broke the spell she put on herself."
Henry smiled as he hugged his parents. "Awesome! I can't wait!" He was excited at the prospect of having a new brother or sister.
After they finished eating their breakfast, they talked about what happened at the bar the other night and what would need to be done. They discussed other changes that would take place. Emma then called her friend Shelley and made arrangements for her equipment to be sent there. Shelley would take over her other businesses in Boston. Emma and Lily would meet Shelley half way since she would not be able to find or enter Storybrooke. It was the only way to make this work.
Regina went to work and made an appointment to meet with Dr. Whale later that month. Maleficent made a call to Ingrid and made arrangements for them to meet for dinner with Emma and their family. ingrid was looking forward to seeing Emma again and was glad that Emma had agreed to meet her. She had so much she had wanted to say to her. She was so grateful to Maleficent for allowing this to happen. When she had learned who Emma's birth mother had been, she'd felt intimidated at first until Maleficent had heard her out and shared her story with Ingrid. She had told the Snow Queen how she had gotten separated with her daughters in the first place. She had been very shocked and appalled by what happened and her heart went out to the Dragon. She had learned how Emma had brought her sister back and was pleased to hear that Emma had a son. When she met him, she had wanted to give them free ice cream.
Emma and Lily left to meet with Shelley and once they had gotten there, Shelley was surprised to learn that Emma had a sister. "Wow, its nice to meet ya Lily." Shelley smiled as they talked a little over lunch. Afterwards, Emma had signed some papers over to Shelley so she could take over her old business. Shelley had been sad to see Emma go. But she understood. After all, Emma had a son to take care of now. Plus she had a new life.
When they finally returned to Storybrooke with Lily driving that huge truck full of her equipment, they pulled the truck into the storage garage next to where the Tattoo Parlor would be and then locked the storage, knowing they would be busy starting on Monday with unloading the truck. Emma was just too glad to get everything there.
Emma looked at the time and shared a look with Lily. "I think it's its time to meet everyone at the Diner." She grinned. She got a text from Regina, saying she was on the way to meet them.
Lily chuckled. "Your friend seemed very interesting. I sensed something different about her. It's like she isn't afraid of the unknown."
Emma smiled and nodded. "She comes from a very interesting background. She has been through a lot herself, but her family is of gypsy descent. They would be familiar with a lot of things that should otherwise scare them. I hired her because she's good at reading people. Someone tried to rip me off one day and she caught on to who was stealing from us. I fired that person. And one day that person came back, planning to burn the place down as revenge. Unfortunately, Shelley had stayed back to finish up doing inventory. She kinda caught me defending the bar and she saw that I wasn't like other people. Instead of reporting me like other people would have, she actually helped me to cover it up."
Lily was impressed. "Wow, that's amazing. It's good she had your back. Not many people like her out there. I can see why you trust her to take over your old business." She smiled. "You know, soon we will need to have some family time with Mom so she can get a picture of us and then you can give her that tattoo. I would love to see you work on her. Maybe you could teach me."
"I'd like to do that. It would be fun to do. Hey guess what?" Emma grinned, a look of mischief on her face.
"What?" Lily chuckled.
"I still have that camera that we stole." Emma giggled.
"NO WAY! Are we still…" Lily laughed.
"Oh yeah! I never deleted that tape of you and me. I couldn't bear the thought of doing that. We should show it to Mom." Emma thought for a moment. "I had this really stupid foster brother who found it one day and tried to mess with it. Sarah stopped him…"
Lily understood that her sister was talking about the other time she was at another foster home. "The same one who Mom met? Maybe we should make a quick stop before we go meet the others. We need to get that camera."
Emma nodded and grinned. "Good thing I know where it is." They stopped at Regina's and she ran to where she kept one of the boxes she knew it was in. She grabbed it and saw it was still good. "Got it! Let's go."
Lily was looking forward to seeing the tape with their family. Soon, they arrived. Everyone was there waiting for them.
Emma grinned as she joined her wife and kissed her. "Sorry if we kept you all waiting. We wanted to make a quick stop."
Lily nodded. "And it's going to be worth it when you see it…"
Ingrid lit up when she saw Emma there. She had grown up beautifully since the last time she saw her. "Hello Emma." She smiled as she stood up from sitting next to Maleficent.
Emma looked at the other blonde. "You still look the same." She was surprised to see she had not changed at all.
Ingrid smiled. "We don't really age. Only once we become adults do we stop. You're so beautiful. I've missed you."
Emma nodded and smiled. "It's good to see you. I heard you had looked for me. I'm sorry. I thought…" She noticed that Sarah/Ingrid had moved closer and was hugging her.
"It's okay, your mother explained everything to me. I don't blame you for running off. I probably would have done the same." She smiled when she felt Emma hug her back. "Let's sit so we can talk some more. Your mother says you and your lovely Regina have something to share."
Emma noticed it was obvious her mother and Ingrid were getting to know one another. She smiled as she sat down with her wife. "I take it you've met my wife." She chuckled.
Ingrid smiled. "I know Regina as our Mayor. Your mother introduced her to me as your wife. So may I say congratulations?"
Emma laughed softly as she shared a look of love with Regina. "Yes there is that."
Regina giggled as she looked at Ingrid. "We're having a baby too."
Ingrid beamed. "That's wonderful news! I'm happy for you two. And your son is amazing too."
Both women thanked Ingrid. Lily nudged Emma and made a face. Emma laughed softly. "Mom, Ingrid, there is a reason why we were a little late. I wanted to make a quick stop to get this. Its my old camera from when we were kids. Lily and I made a video on it and it's still there. There is also another video on it too… But anyways we wanted to share this small part with you…"
Ruby came over to them. "You know, we do have a tv here. We have a usb that will allow us to show it on the tv." She suggested.
"That's a great idea." Emma nodded as she went with Ruby to set it up. Emma was getting so excited and so was Lily. They couldn't wait to show everyone what they looked like back then. Emma sat down with Regina and Lily moved her seat to sit next to her sister, taking a hold of her hand. Henry was very curious and Maleficent was wondering about this surprise. Ingrid seemed to know what it was.
"Okay everybody ready?" Ruby asked and then turned it on.
The monitor came to life as everyone saw two very young girls laughing and being silly and very happy together. They could clearly see it was Emma and Lily at a time when they were carefree. It was a small glimpse into their life. Behind them on the couch were their snacks and bags of items. They giggled and talked about being sisters and best friends forever. Then they heard noise in the background when someone arrived home. The girls panicked and the last thing they saw was Emma grabbing the camera while Lily grabbed their things and they ran out. The camera stopped and Emma paused it to look at their mother. "Mom? You okay?"
Maleficent had gotten emotional seeing her girls like that. "This is the best gift you could give me today. I know you showed me your memories, but seeing this… Knowing now, that after you both were stolen from me, somehow your paths managed to cross and you two were friends… Its so amazing to be able to see this part of your life. Thank you so much." Emma and Lily ran over and hugged Maleficent tightly. "We love you so much mom!"
Regina was amazed to see what Emma looked like back then as well as Lily. "You were so beautiful then. Even more so now. Is that when you both got caught?"
Lily nodded. "Yeah, that was the last time I saw my sister until you both found me again. We had broken into that house after we ran away from our homes and we are their food and stole this very camera. They didn't want it back. But I am glad Emma kept it."
Emma smiled. "Me too. I kept a reminder of you and me and I couldn't bear the thought of erasing it even after our last fight. A part of me knew what happened was something to cherish forever." She smiled as Lily hugged her tightly. Emma then spoke again. "This is not the only thing I saved from my youth." She admitted. She pressed play again. Suddenly they saw an overweight boy trying to bully Emma. Fighting over the camera while Emma started yelling at the boy to give it back and the lights started flickering wildly as other kids started screaming only to have Ingrid/Sarah run into the room and grab the camera from the kid and yelling at him to stop disrespecting Emma. That the camera did not belong to him. It belonged to Emma and she told him to never touch her things again. They could clearly see how much Ingrid cared about Emma. How she defended her. The video ended and everyone was looking at Emma and Ingrid.
Maleficent was looking at Ingrid with a renewed sense of appreciation. "You were there for my daughter when she needed you. I will never forget this. Emma told menof the rough life she had, being moved from foster home to foster home. She said no one but one wanted they kept getting rid of her when her powers were too great. They called her a freak. They abused her. Hurt her, touched her. All kinds you can think of, they did it to her. All except one. Nobody wanted her except you."
Ingrid nodded, feeling emotional. "I did want her. I saw something in her that reminded me of myself. I felt drawn to her because I had been in her shoes too. I loved her as if she were my own. When I went to tell her, she thought I was going to send her back, but I told her I Wanted to adopt her. But something happened and I scared her away." She looked over at Emma. "I never meant to scare you. I just wanted to help you. I didn't realize you still were not ready to fully grasp your powers then."
Emma smiled at her. "I realize that now. It's just that I had gotten so used to people throwing me away because of who I was, because I was a freak in more ways than one. Being born with two parts, having magic from the time I was a baby, having things constantly happen around me when I had no idea how to control it… The changes I faced always worried they would catch me in the act and then hunt me down… I didn't know what was going on with me and it got worse once I hit puberty. I was always running, always hiding and sometimes I got caught, but I would find ways to escape. The law couldn't handle me, the foster system couldn't handle me. The only person I came across grounded me as long as she was at my side. When I was with her, she kept me sane. I felt like my powers were controlled and I loved spending time with her. It's like we balanced each other out. But we were also strong together. Sometimes we would give in to the side of us that wanted to get in trouble. We clicked, we connected in ways we never could with anyone else. At that time, I had no idea she was my sister. Without her, I faced more chaos. But it only served to make me stronger in the end. When I met you, I was lost and confused. I didn't know what you really wanted from me. But I never forgot your kindness. You gave me a sense of normalcy for a while and I enjoyed that very much. But there was always something inside me that wanted to come out. Something happened that day you say you were trying to teach me something. But I freaked out. I had this feeling my powers were going to get out of control. If I had stayed, I would have hurt you or worse. I didn't want you to find out what else I could do and then you would have pushed me away like everyone else had. I ran, not because of what you were trying to show me, I ran because I didn't want to hurt you." Emma explained. "At that age, my powers were out of control and I was still finding things out about myself. That world was not ready for me, and it was not ready for Lily. It was not the world we belonged to. Because some people were stupid enough to separate us from our birth mother. The only parent who could have handled us and our magic. Our darkness our beasts. If the world saw us in our true glory, they would have tried to destroy us. If these people had not done what they did to us, we would have had a better handle on who and what we were." Emma smiled as she shared a look with Lily.
Ingrid smiled and nodded. "You make very valid points Emma. I know we can't predict what could have happened. But we can rest easy knowing that things happened for a reason. I am so glad you both found your mother." She smiled at Maleficent.
Regina spoke up then, "They were cowards for doing that to you all. And I am afraid I may have pushed them to do that because they were afraid of me."
Emma shook her head. "No baby, it's not your fault. They were the ones who made the decisions to do what they did. I don't care that you're who you are. They had no right to step into a dragon's lair and steal her babies even when she begged for mercy. They did that, not you." She smiled and kissed her wife. "I love you the way you are. Don't you dare change. You are amazing and perfect in every way possible."
Maleficent smiled knowingly. "I agree with my daughter. If anyone is to blame for what happened, it's Snow White and her Charming. We have them running with their tails between their legs. They are hiding because they know they are guilty. They may have some friends on their side, but they are no match for our family. Soon, we will find them and put an end to this nonsense. They hurt our family and because of them, my daughters had to grow up without me to help train them. They had to learn everything the hard way."
"It only made us stronger so in a way, they did us a favor. Even more so after they poured their daughter's darkness and whatever other powers she would have had, inside of us." Lily smirked darkly.
Regina laughed. "Those Charmings have no idea what will be done to them. But I am sure looking forward to seeing them go down."
Ingrid smiled at them. "I hate knowing what they put you all through. And because I know what it's like to be in your shoes… I would like to offer my services to help you stop them." She winked at Maleficent.
The dragon had an evil smile on her face. "You would, wouldn't you darling?"
