Chapter 8: Thinking Things Thru
Emma watched as Regina tore through maps and tomes in the vault. It was like she was determined to find something for them to use. The purple in her eyes was evident. Emma reached for a book while Regina was reading it. She'd seen the look in Regina's eyes and didn't like. When Regina looked up from the book, Emma could see the magic swirling in her eyes. Reaching for Regina's hand, she cocked an eyebrow.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize for helping, Regina. I know that you are doing everything that you can. If you don't find anything, you don't find anything. At least we can say that we tried. We have her blood. Doc is typing it for me. I'll have it uploaded and searching as soon as I can. I know that doesn't help you or us now, but we'll find her. I know we will. We have to," Emma told her.
"It doesn't seem like enough."
"We can only use what we know, Regina. Thankfully I have more at my disposal to find Maleficent's daughter as Sheriff than I ever did as a bounty hunter. We'll find her. And, then, we'll move on with our lives until someone else comes looking for their happy ending," Emma stated.
"What about you and yours?"
"What about it?"
"When are you going to get yours?" Regina asked her.
"Who says I haven't," Emma replied.
"Emma..."
"No seriously, who says I haven't."
"Are you happy here?" Regina questioned.
"I'm not unhappy."
"Emma..."
"Okay, look. For the longest time, all I ever wanted was my family, a forever home to call my own. When I aged out, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I really didn't have a clue. I didn't have any direction. I was drifting and it was fun until I went to jail. I know that I had Henry and I gave him up, but my life was still my own. I still had to fight for everything that I had. If I hadn't caught a break in Boston, who knows what would have become of me."
"What happened in Boston?" Regina asked her as she pushed some books away from herself.
"I found that I was good hunting down people. I started working for a bounty hunter. He taught me a lot, like how to skirt the law to get the target, but he taught me to look for the brighter things. I did a lot of lying to get the people that we were after. I did everything legally for the most part, but our capture rate was the highest in the city. Hell, even Boston PD got us to help with their warrants division sometimes. It was always small stuff, but we did a good job."
"But, you left all that," Regina stated.
"Yeah, because a precocious ten year old showed up on my doorstep claiming to be my kid on my twenty-eighth birthday."
Regina laughed a little, "Yes, he did."
"But, I still wasn't ready to be a mother. It had been ten years and I still wasn't sure that I should even be in his life. My life was still shit. I was still trying to figure things out. Yeah, I had a job and a decent place to live, but I didn't have a life. My life was getting bail jumpers, parolees, and convicts. It wasn't the safest thing, but it paid well. Getting Henry to get back here, it changed everything."
"How?" Regina asked as she leaned back.
Emma realized that they never really talked about it. She could tell that Regina and she both just assumed things about the other. They'd never really tried to see past the facades, masks, and magic. They played their parts in public, but there was so much more to each of them.
"I found my parents."
"That must have been a shock."
"I don't think that shock is a large enough word for that. I didn't know what to do with information. They wanted a baby and got an adult. I know they love me and I love them, but they are more my friends than honestly my parents. But, then again, they are my parents. I look to them when it comes to certain things in town because I know that I don't know everything that I should about the politics, history, and lore of the Enchanted Forest. We might not be living there, but there is still so much of it in the town."
"This is true."
"I got my family. I got my parents. I got my son back and I share him with the wonderful woman who raised him. I can't really complain about that. I realized that I'd done the same thing that my parents had done with me. Henry just lucked out and got someone who cared for him completely, someone who would do anything for him, and someone that wasn't going to give up on him no matter what. Me, I got shoved around foster homes, group homes and families, until I broke out on my own. But, I got my family. It might have taken me twenty-eight years to do it, but I got them."
"And that makes you happy?"
"Yes."
"Is that all?"
"I found out that I am the daughter of a fairy tale character. My parents are my age thanks to a curse. My son is ten years old. He was raised by my mother's arch enemy and is wickedly smart."
"Wickedly?"
"Sorry, bad choice of slang. He's super smart. He believes in his family, all of them, blood and not. He is the reason that the curse broke. If it wasn't for Henry, then..."
"You wouldn't have found your family."
"Exactly."
"So you see your family and Henry as your happily ever after?" Regina inquired.
"It was all I wanted as a child."
"Do you that it is all you want to be happy, though?" Regina asked her.
Emma honestly hadn't thought about it. She was content with her life to degree. She believed that there was someone out there for her, but she wasn't actively and hadn't been actively seeking them out. Some part of her hoped that they would find her, and that part had only gotten stronger since she'd come to Storybrooke. Maybe it was because she was a Charming. She loved fiercely. Everyone could see it. But, there didn't seem to be a single man that stuck her as worthy enough of her attention. And, the two that did were her father and her son, so they didn't count. She'd thought about August, but he'd become a boy again, so that was just weird. Then there was Neal, who turned out to be Gold's son. She wouldn't go back to him, not in a romantic sense. She would be friends with him, mostly for Henry's sake, but there wasn't that spark between them anymore. She didn't hate him, but she didn't love him either.
"Honestly, I am happier now than I have ever been. If I find someone to share that with, so be it. If not, I have friends and family. I'll be okay."
"That isn't exactly what I asked, but I understand. I'm happy that I have Henry, but I wonder if I'll have a happily ever after. I am the Evil Queen. I don't get a happy ending in all the stories."
"But, that doesn't mean that you can't have one, Regina."
"Doesn't it? I have a son I love. I have friends that actually seem to care about me. I have a good job, great house, and decent social life."
"Being Mayor isn't a social life, Regina. It's part of the job. You don't really have a social life, except with me and Henry. But, don't feel bad. I don't either. But, I'm content. Are you?" Emma asked her.
"As I can be."
"What does that mean?"
"I would love to have someone to hold at night and love, but I doubt that anyone in this town would come to my bed willingly."
"Hey, you don't know that," Emma told her.
"Actually, I do."
"I am not sure that I want to know," Emma replied.
"I am not sure that I would even tell you," Regina retorted.
"Well..."
"So..."
"Regina..."
"No, Emma, just drop it. How long did Doc say it would take to type Maleficent's blood? For the DNA to be run?"
"A couple of days."
"So now we just wait?"
"Yeah, we do."
"I hate waiting," Regina stated.
"Don't we all."
Regina looked at her again. She was pensive and withdrawn. Regina could only wonder what this was doing to her. Emma had to be torn, but she made her decision. She was siding with what she thought was right. It didn't make it any easier for either of them.
"Did Maleficent say anything about a name?" Regina asked her.
"No, she didn't."
"You didn't ask?"
"I was a little taken aback that she was missing an egg. And after her telling me that my parents took it, I kinda forgot to ask her what the name of her child was. Forgive me, I was little distracted. As soon as she left, I called Snow. I wasn't sure where to start except with them. And, it honestly doesn't matter if Maleficent named the child. She never met it. There was no way that the egg would have known what her name was. I'm still a little hung up on the fact that Maleficent knew that it was a girl," Emma told her.
"She is part dragon?"
"And dragon know the sex of their children before they are born? hatched? whatever it is that they call it?" Emma asked.
"I don't know, Dear. I am not part dragon. Perhaps, we should both go talk to Mal a little more. I am sure that there is more to this story than we know."
"I am not sure that I want to know more."
"Fair enough, Emma, but sitting around and pondering isn't really doing anything for the case, now is it?"
Emma looked at her. She didn't know what to do. They had nothing to go on, but maybe Regina had a point. They could talk to Maleficent. Maybe there was something about being a dragon that would allow them to move forward with the case until the DNA came back.
"Do you think that she'll be able to help us more than what she already told me?" Emma inquired.
"I don't know, Emma. I really don't. But, I am sure that she would feel better if we kept talking to her. It would remind her that you care and that you are working on the case, even if it doesn't look like you are. You have a big responsibility as town Sheriff, and I am sure she understands that," Regina started.
"I am not half the town understands what I have to do. They just see me as Snow's daughter and a problem fixer. I know we don't have a lot of crime and I spend most of my time trying to wrangle Pongo, but that isn't all I do," Emma stated.
"I know that, Emma. I know what you do for our town. I've seen it. You've giving so much of yourself to us and I'm proud of that. Now, in the beginning, it infuriated me, but now, I know that it isn't just a job to you. It is what you do. It is what you've always done. You want your parents and Henry to be proud of you. And, they are. But, I am also proud of you and what you do for us. Maleficent will see it, Emma. She lives here now. She'll see it or she'll hear about it. Let's not worry about that now. How about we get some lunch at Granny's and then we go see Mal? We'll just go talk to her. Remind her that you are trying and that we are working hard for an answer."
"Okay," Emma replied.
"Dear, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," Emma stated.
"When did I have to start building your confidence in your abilities? You are an insufferable Charming. Act like it. You will find Mal's daughter because you won't rest until you do. So, let's go get that crazy bacon cheeseburger your rave so much about and go pay Mal a visit," Regina stated.
"You're right. But, I might just get a salad. Wouldn't want to eat anything too heavy before a possibly very heavy conversation, you know?"
"As you wish, Dear," Regina told her as she lead them out of the vault and back towards town.
