Chapter Eight


When Regina woke the next morning, Emma wasn't in her bed. She looked around the room, but still found no sign of her. She glanced into Henry's room as she made her way down the hallway; it was early, and he was still asleep.

Downstairs, she finally found Emma sitting on the floor of the living room, with Henry's storybook open in front of her. Regina cringed inwardly when she saw it was open to the story of Snow White and Prince Charming's wedding. She was suddenly grateful that Henry had ripped out the pages about Baby Emma. She knew this little Emma couldn't read, but she would definitely recognize her blanket in the picture, and she would be full of questions.

"What are you doing, sweetheart?" Regina asked, sitting down on the couch.

Emma closed the book and handed it to Regina, quickly scrambling up on the couch beside her. "Can you read me this?"

Regina gave her a small smile. "Well, this is Henry's special book, so we'll have to ask him. But, he's still asleep," she said, placing the book on the coffee table, "so I thought, maybe while it's still just you and me, we could talk about what happened last night?"

"Because I was bad?" Emma asked, looking down.

"No, you weren't bad. But you were upset, weren't you?"

Emma nodded.

"I want to know why you were upset, so I can help you feel better."

"Because Mommy and Daddy are getting a new baby," Emma said with a pout.

"They're having a new baby, yes. But not for another eight months or so."

"They just got me, why do they need to get another baby?" Emma asked, looking up.

It occurred to her then that Emma wasn't making the distinction between having a baby, and bringing home a new foster child. "Emma, they're not getting a baby, they're having a baby. The baby is growing inside your mommy's tummy, just like you and Neal did, before each of you were born."

"What's going to happen to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"When Neal cries someone gets him. If there's two babies and they cry, two people will have to get them, and I will be all alone. If I cry, there won't be anybody left to hug me."

"Emma, that's not the way it works."

"Yes it is!" Emma pouted. "Every house I am in, they only care about the babies! No one cares about the kids. No one cares about me. When they get too many babies, they just send me back."

"Emma," Regina said, taking Emma's little face her in hands, "no one is ever sending you back, ever again."

"I want to sleep over at your house again tonight," Emma said.

"You slept at my house last night," Regina reminded her.

"That didn't count! I want to have a fun sleepover," Emma replied.

"Ok, but only if your mommy says it's ok. We'll ask her when she comes to pick Henry up for school." Truthfully, Regina wanted Emma to stay again tonight, regardless, but she was glad that Emma brought it up. At least that way it was her idea.

Mary Margaret showed up a little earlier than normal that morning, and Henry and Emma were still eating breakfast in the dining room when she arrived.

"I talked to Blue last night," Mary Margaret told Regina in a hushed voice in the foyer, "and she thinks they are pretty close to creating a reversal spell. It should only be a matter of days."

Regina could see the obvious relief on Mary Margaret's face as she told her the news, but she couldn't help but feel sad at the prospect of possibly losing Little Emma in a few days.

"David and I just can't wait for everything to get back to normal. I know that when we have the real Emma back, she'll be happy about the new baby," Mary Margaret continued.

Regina bit her tongue to avoid saying something she would regret. While she understood what she meant, she wondered if Mary Margaret really didn't understand that the little girl in the other room still was the real Emma. She knew that Mary Margaret was elated about her brand new bundle of joy, but that child was still a fetus, and Emma was a living, breathing child who needed their attention now.

"She wants to sleep here again tonight," Regina said, finally.

"That's fine," Mary Margaret agreed.

"Is it?" Regina raised an eyebrow. She had expected a debate. She figured the Charmings would want her back, knowing they didn't have much time left of her being small.

"Yes, of course. She likes spending time with you. She can come home tomorrow when I drop Henry off from school."

Regina just nodded. She couldn't help but feel, now that Mary Margaret was on the verge of getting the daughter she knew back, that she had kind of written off Little Emma.

Mary Margaret gave Emma a hug and kiss before she left with Henry, but Emma seemed genuinely disinterested in her mother's attention at the moment. Mary Margaret still seemed satisfied, and Regina figured anything was better than the tantrum to end all tantrums from the previous night.

Regina took Emma to the park that morning and let her play. She took her out for lunch again, and when Emma asked for ice cream, Regina was more than happy to oblige. She had just taken her out for ice cream two days ago, but with the idea that their time together might be limited now, she felt that twice in one week was alright.

Regina smiled as she watched Emma lick her cone. She had ice cream all over her face and hands, but she seemed to be having the time of her life. Regina wondered again if any of these memories would stick with Emma when she reverted back. For the first time, she also started wondering what this would mean for the two of them, moving forward.

In just a week, Regina had developed such a strong bond with this little girl. Even if Emma lost these memories, Regina knew she herself would still have them, and she couldn't imagine that bond just going away. She supposed Adult Emma wouldn't mind Regina's new-found attachment to her, even if she didn't remember their week together. After all, it was always Emma who was pushing for them to have a better relationship with one another. Looking at her little face now, Regina suddenly regretted all the times she had pushed her away. She had always assumed Emma pursued her because she thought she needed a friend, but now she wondered if it was really Emma that had needed a friend all along.

That evening, after Henry had returned from school and dinner was eaten, Regina needed to go to her office to catch up on some work, so she brought Henry and Emma with her. Henry brought some books to read to Emma on the couch while Regina worked.

Regina couldn't help but glance up at them every few moments, thinking how adorable they looked together. She kind of regretted that she never adopted a second child, to give Henry a sibling. She supposed, though, it wasn't too late for Emma to give him one, if she chose to, one day.

There was a knock at the office door, and Regina looked up to see one of her assistants standing there.

"Madam Mayor, may I borrow you for a moment?"

Regina nodded and stood up. She glanced over at the couch and saw Emma looking at her, panicked.

"Emma, I'm going to be right down the hall. I won't be long. You stay with Henry and he'll keep reading to you, ok?"

Emma nodded reluctantly, and sank back down into her seat.

Regina returned fifteen minutes later, and Henry was reading a story that sounded familiar. She looked over and saw that he had his storybook open over his and Emma's laps, reading her a story about dwarfs hatching from eggs.

"Henry," Regina said, in a cautionary tone.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm skipping the parts with the E-V-I-L-Q-U-E-E-N," Henry assured her.

"Don't skip parts!" Emma protested. "I want to hear about the… uh… ee vee… uh…"

"Trust me, sweetheart, you don't. Those parts are boring. And terribly written, I might add," Regina said, returning to her desk.

Emma looked at Henry, but he just laughed and continued the story they were already reading.

By the time Regina was finished her work, Emma had fallen asleep, leaning against Henry's arm. Regina walked over and smiled.

"I think she likes me now," Henry commented.

"I think you might be right. I guess that storybook was a good choice after all."

"Well, she asked me to read it. When I first brought Emma Storybrooke, it was the book that brought us together then, and I thought maybe it would work again on Little Emma," Henry said.

"It would appear you were right," Regina replied, as she reached down to pick Emma up.

"Grandma said the fairies are close to making a reversal spell," Henry said, standing.

"Yes, I heard," Regina nodded.

"Are you sad about it?" Henry asked.

"No, why would I be sad?"

Henry smiled, "because I think you like this Little Emma."

"Only because she reminds me of little you," Regina replied, turning to head for the door. It was half-true, but her fondness for Little Emma went much deeper than just reminding Regina of Henry when he was small.

Regina had thought Emma would be out for the night, but to her surprise, she woke up in the car when they pulled into the driveway, with a brand new bout of energy. Regina let her play for a while, and then brought her some paper and coloured markers, and asked her to draw a picture, to help her settle down.

About half an hour later, Emma returned to Regina with her masterpiece in hand. Regina put her book down as Emma climbed up in her lap to show her her artwork. Henry pretended to focus on his video game, but Regina caught him looking at the picture from the corner of her eye.

"This is me," Emma pointed to a stick figure in red, with yellow lines for hair and what looked like a spiky pink crown on her head. "That's my tiara, because I'm a princess."

"Of course," Regina nodded, smiling.

"And that's you," Emma pointed out the taller purple stick figure, with black hair and a big red smile. The Regina-stick-person also had a spiky pink crown. "You're the Queen and this is your crown. And you're so happy because Princess Emma is there."

"I'm always happy when you're here," Regina agreed.

"That's Henry." Emma showed her the third stick figure, who had a brown square in front of him, which Regina assumed was the storybook.

"Where's Henry's crown?" Regina asked.

Emma laughed. "Boys don't wear crowns! Crowns are for girls! Henry has his book because he's the reader and he's the smartest boy in the whole world."

Regina glanced up and caught Henry grinning.

"And this is our castle, where we all live happily ever after!"

"You, me and Henry?"

Emma nodded. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," Regina smiled. "Let's go hang it on the fridge."

Emma looked at Regina, confused, but followed her to the kitchen anyway. Regina wondered if anyone had ever hung up anything Emma had made, but from the look on her face, she guessed that was a no. Regina pulled a magnet out of the drawer and hung Emma's masterpiece on the door.

"Now everyone can see it," Emma grinned.

"Exactly," Regina agreed.

Emma yawned as she proudly admired her picture.

"I know a little Princess who is getting very tired," Regina said, picking her up. She had worried that she might be picking up the child too often, but now that she knew she might only have a few days left to do it, she wanted to carry her all the time. Emma put her arms around Regina and laid her head on her shoulder, like she always did.

"Let's go tell Henry it's bed time," Regina said, heading back to the living room. Emma nodded.

"Fifteen more minutes, ok Henry?" Regina said, as they returned to the room.

"Ok, good night Mom," Henry replied, turning back to look at them.

"Good night, Henry," said Regina.

"Good night, Henry," Emma repeated, softly.

"Good night, Kid," Henry replied with a wink. Regina smiled, knowing that Adult Emma would love that Henry had used her nickname for him. As sad as she was that Emma might be turned back soon, for Henry's sake, she was glad. She had spent a long time fighting to be his only mother. When she realized that was no longer possible, she had begrudgingly accepted that Emma was always going to be there. As much as she tried to be everything for Henry, now she had to admit, he really did need both of his mothers.

When they were both changed into their pajamas, Regina and Emma snuggled into bed together, like they always did. Out of everything, Regina realized that cuddling Emma, and singing her to sleep, was what she was going to miss the most.

Emma knew nearly all the words to their lullaby now, and it warmed Regina's heart to hear that little voice singing along with her.

"Good night, Regina," Emma whispered, when they finished singing.

Regina leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Good night, my Princess."

"I love you," Emma whispered.

That caught Regina by surprise. She smiled as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She pulled Emma closer, and whispered, "I love you, too."