Not-So-Evil has made it to over fifty reviews! Yay! Party! And, also exciting news: we are very close to 90 followers and edging towards 70 favorites. It's an exciting time.
Here's the big news, folks: I took down the polls last week and, after some deliberation in which I took into account voting numbers, messages I received, scenes I had tried to write out, and what I thought fit best with what I had already planned for this story, I have come to a decision.
If you want to know what it is (verses me not telling you and having it be a semi-surprise), just go to my Tumblr (just search for Cuppatea13 on Tumblr and I'll pop right up), and click the "I Get Meta Sometimes" link at the top there, and it'll be the first thing that pops up. You'll see the whole thing written out. If you're really interested, you can click the "read more" link there and see some of what I've got planned, or you can just take in who was picked and move on relatively spoiler-free. Up to you.
Now, onto the chapter!
Mary Margaret gave a sigh as she watched Emma bundle the twins out of the door- she was taking them to Marco, who Ada had called and asked for a favor. The old Italian man was apparently delighted to help however he could and was more than happy to watch after the two kids while Emma and Ada searched for their father. When Mary Margaret asked Ada why she had called Marco out of everyone the redhead looked at her and asked who else would she have called.
Mary Margaret wasn't sure how to respond to that one.
Something had seemed off with the sisters that day. Mary Margaret wasn't quite able to put her finger on it, but they both seemed...jumpy.
Emma opened the door to the loft only to flinch slightly and come up short, proving Mary Margaret's previous thought. Mary Margaret peaked outwards and there, standing in the hallway, fist raised as if about to knock, was David.
Mary Margaret tried very hard to keep herself from blushing as her heart skipped several beats before starting again at twice its usual pace.
"David," Emma said before turning to look at Mary Margaret where she stood by her counter. The teacher knew she was trembling somewhat- the atmosphere suddenly felt momentous, suddenly huge, and she was sure she'd either sink under it or rise up into the stars, but the anticipation of it all had her stunned. Emma said nothing more, but ushered the Zimmer twins out the door and subtly pushed David in (or, rather, tried to subtly push David in- it wasn't so subtle when all was said and done). She gave one last warning look to Mary Margaret (what, exactly, she was being warned of, Mary Margaret couldn't have told you, but she straightened her spine a bit at the look from Emma and shored her courage up- she would not back down and she would not settle for something less than what she had asked of David).
"I divorced Kathryn. I found a place to live and a job I like. And I like hamburgers better than hot dogs, hot chocolate with cinnamon in it but mostly with whipped cream, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd consider helping me find out which is my favorite restaurant in Storybrooke," Mary Margaret, when he first started, had thought he'd say all this in a rush, but instead, David had declared each item slowly, drawing it out so she had time to process and hear each and every word. He stood there now, a few precious feet from her, hands shoved deep in his pockets, shoulders hunched slightly forward, but his head held high as his eyes absorbed her reaction for each minute detail.
"You divorced Kathryn?"
"Yes. All the papers are filled out and filed, totally finalized."
"You found a place to live?"
"It's this little apartment on Birch Street."
"And you like your job?"
"Working at the shelter is great."
She took a deep breath. "So- hamburgers?"
He grinned at her, unable to help himself as he watched her stuttering slightly and trying to absorb all the information he'd just told her.
"Yeah- definitely better than hot dogs. Did you ever read the ingredients in those things?"
"I meant," she shook her head, "Would you like to go get some? Granny's for lunch?"
His grin widened and he nodded, "I would love to."
Mary Margaret grabbed her coat and led the way, keeping her eyes forward even as David slipped a hand into her's.
Having previously decided that Ada's room at Granny's was their best bet for privacy, Ada and Emma and smuggled Henry into the room and now sat, once again, on either side of him on Ada's bed.
In the way that your mind often wonders to absurd trivialities during moments of stress, Ada had time to think that maybe she should look for a place to stay. It was getting expensive to live in a B&B and, with Emma putting down roots, Ada felt it was time for some of her own.
Plus she was going to need more closet space.
"Have you had any luck?" Henry asked Emma, talking about the Zimmer twins, his mind focused on solving the puzzle.
"Actually, kid, before we talk about that- I wanted to ask you some stuff."
"If it's about who they are- I know," the boy's eyes gleamed as he pulled his storybook out of his backpack.
"Henry," Ada interrupted, gently removing the book from Henry's hands and placing it on the nightstand beside her. "This is important, and it's not really about Ava and Nicholas. It's about you."
"You know I didn't steal that stuff, right?" Henry queried, his eyes darting between the two women, "Cuz I really didn't and I thought-"
"Henry," Emma cut him off now, "I know you didn't steal anything. You're a good kid- how about you let me talk before you jump to any conclusions?"
Henry nodded and settled himself onto the bed, his eyes stuck to Emma. The blonde took a deep breath before she pulled out some pictures from her jacket pocket. Henry recognized them and looked confused.
"Kid, I know that you've been telling me for ages now about how time was frozen before, and how everyone here doesn't remember who they are and all that, but I guess- I didn't realize what that meant," Emma looked down at one photograph, a picture of Henry with a dozen other chubby-faced Kindergartners, grinning widely at the camera. Emma personally thought that Henry's eyes had more spark, more intelligence, more something than the other kids, and had previously put it down to maternal bias (not that she'd admit it) but she wasn't so sure now.
"These same kids are still in the same Kindergarten class as they were five years ago," Emma whispered, her eyes darting up to Henry, who was focused on the old photograph now. "They probably don't remember going to school with you, do they?"
"No," Henry shook his head, frowning.
Emma sucked in a deep breath and looked at Ada for guidance, but her sister was focused entirely on Henry, her heartbreak clear in her eyes.
"Henry," Emma whispered, unable to get her voice any louder with the knot in her throat, "You've been the only one aging and the only one remembering it all for all this time?"
Henry shifted slightly in his seat, but nodded.
"Oh, kid," Emma felt like her lungs were collapsing and her heart was breaking and she could feel the build-up of tears behind her eyes.
This was not Henry's best chance at all.
She should've kept him. If she'd kept him she would've gotten him once she was out of jail, she'd have struggled to make ends meet, and she probably would've had to go a few nights without eating herself, but he wouldn't have had to deal with all this. He would've grown up with friends who remembered going to class with him, he would've aged with everyone else and no one would've ever told him he was crazy for telling the truth.
Emma dropped the photos, and they scattered on the floor between her and Henry's feet, and she wrapped Henry up in a hug.
"I am so sorry, kid," she choked out as she felt Ada place a hand on Henry as well, not intruding, but letting the two know she was there. Emma opened her eyes to look at her sister. Ada looked about as gutted as Emma felt. Anger, no doubt, would come later; right now, all that was in the room was sadness and a bitter sort of defeat.
"It's not your fault," Henry told her, his hands coming up to hug her back, patting her slightly as if in comfort. In some ways, it only made Emma feel worse. It was not Henry's job to comfort her.
"Listen, Henry," Ada said, leaning forward to catch the boy's eyes, "I promise you- Emma and I will fix this. Whatever it takes."
Emma nodded, "This wasn't ever what I wanted for you Henry, and I will do anything so- I'll make sure it's how things are supposed to be for you."
Henry grinned, springing back quickly. Emma wondered if he had been forced to learn that after ten years of living the way he had. "You can start with Ava and Nicholas," he told them reaching past Ada to grab the storybook as Emma's arms loosened from their tight grip around him, though she couldn't entirely bring herself to let him go. "I know who they are," he flipped the book open, showing a picture that did look eerily like the twins. "Brother and sister, lost, no parents. Hansel and Gretel," he grinned up at the women, proud of his detective work.
Ada blew out a breath, "The curse is real," she muttered, trying to absorb it. Emma didn't seem to be coping much better.
"I told you so," Henry gave a cheeky grin.
Ada managed to let out a nervous laugh and looked up at Emma, who seemed to lock down all the emotion behind one of her walls, bringing her focus to Henry and his book.
"So, this book of yours say anything about their dad?"
"Just that he abandoned them," Henry shrugged.
Ada leaned forward and turned the page to another picture: one of the blind witch, a pile of bones behind her, "This is the one where the Evil Queen sent Hansel and Gretel to the cannibal witch?" she asked Henry, who nodded, "What were they supposed to get?"
"An apple, but when the Queen tried to make them stay with her, she sent them to the Infinite Forest, so they'd be lost forever," Henry turned the page to show the two wandering in the woods.
"Well," Ada sighed but then gave a grin, "The book may not say where the Woodcutter is, but I think I have a lead."
"You do?" Emma asked.
Ada nodded, "Something Gold said- I think we should ask a few questions to Michael Tillman. Owner of Michael's Automobile Repair Shop."
"How'd you figure that out?" Emma asked, standing.
"The word "Rook" comes from the Sanskrit for "Chariot.""
"Huh?" Henry looked at her.
Ada shook her head, "You don't wanna know."
Emma wanted to look up a few things on Michael Tillman at the station so she and Henry began walking in that direction, but Ada was distracted by seeing Mary Margaret and David eating burgers in Granny's, and she had decided to check in with the couple. Anything to distract from the herd of elephants in the town.
Emma really wished that Ada had come along as soon as she settled at her old desk.
Henry had pushed himself up and now sat on the desk, looking carefully at her face. He was hesitant before he asked, "Do you know anything about him?"
"Well," Emma said, grimacing, "This computer equipment is from the Dark Ages so it's taking a little time, but I will soon."
"Not their father, mine."
Emma sucked in a breath. Oh, this was not going to be an easy day. She hadn't even had time to deal with the whole the-curse-is-real thing yet, and now Henry was evidently pulling no punches. She hadn't had time to prepare for this question. She honestly hadn't even had time to absorb the fact that this question was bound to come along someday. She had never had to think about how'd she'd explain that mess to Henry. And, of course, it was on today of all days that the kid decided to ask.
"I told you about your parents," he insisted, and Emma did not want to open that can of worms just yet, "Now you're even living with your mom."
Yup, keeping that can tightly sealed.
"Mary Margaret-," Emma began to deny, before shutting everything down tight. No time to deal with the curse thing- that would have to wait till tonight. With Ada. And a lot of alcohol.
"Please," Henry gave her some seriously earnest puppy dog eyes and Emma began to cave. She had to tell the kid something. But, god, she could not tell Henry the truth here. How was she supposed to tell this wonderful boy, this amazing kid, that his dad not only left her after promising that they would make a home together, but he sent her to jail for his crime? That the first person Emma had let past her walls had betrayed her so much? That even after that betrayal, Emma had somehow convinced herself if she could just find Neal there would be a reasonable explanation for it all, that they would find each other and everything would be all right and he'd help her deal with the fact that she had to give up this perfect little human being without even a glance because-. How could she tell Henry she wasted two years of her life looking and waiting for a man who so obviously did not want to be found or find her? That his father was the only person aside from her own parents Emma had failed to find? How could she even begin to explain?
She knew if she told Henry the most innocent aspects of her and Neal's relationship (not many parts were innocent, when all was said and done- they were thieves on the run, she was a kid pretending to be an adult, pretending that all the shit in her past had made her older and wiser, when all it had done was made her damaged) Henry, getting these tiny details, would, of course, ask how come it all ended. He would ask where his father was now, why he wasn't with Emma. Henry believed in true love. He didn't realize how often relationships failed.
He would never imagine one could fail like that one had.
Not to mention Henry was ten. He was ten years old living in this cursed town where he was the only one aging and aware of it, he was living under Regina's thumb, he was ten years old and dealing with more than any ten year old should have to. He was ten.
This was not an appropriate story for a ten year old.
But what to say? The full truth couldn't be told, not till Henry was at least fifty. Neal was never coming back either way, but Henry was still dealing with Graham's death (and, honestly, so was Emma) and he was still occasionally struggling to hold onto that hope that things would work out.
She had to make sure Henry had hope, but understood there was no way to contact his biological father. Emma would have to lie- she hadn't had time to come up with another solution, and this is what she was going to go with. She'd fashion Henry a hero- someone he could admire, someone honest and brave and all the things Henry liked about those heroes in his stories- a firefighter.
Now Emma just had to incorporate the parts of her past Henry did know- that jail sentence and the foster system- and make it work.
But Emma had grown up around liars, and she knew how to make a lie sound true.
"I was pretty young," she began- keep a kernel of truth, it was a basic of creating a believable lie, after all, "I just got out of the foster system and the only job I could get was at this 24-hour diner, just off the interstate," Emma had worked at that diner- it was just after she had gotten out of jail instead of before, "And, um, your dad was training to be a fireman," A fireman- similar to a Sheriff, giving this imaginary man all the qualities Henry had admired and loved in Graham, "He always got the worst shifts. So he'd come in and order coffee and pie, and sit at the counter and always complain that we didn't sell pumpkin pie." Add details- details always made a lie more believable, but not too many or it would oversell, "But he always come back the next day anyway," She added just a touch of something sweetly, innocently romantic. Henry loved the story of Snow White and Prince Charming, after all.
"Did you get married?" Henry asked.
Emma couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her, as if she and Neal would've ever managed to get their act together for something like that- as if Neal would've ever made that sort of promise and kept it, "No, nothing like that," she couldn't make the connection too too serious- Emma didn't want Henry to think she was mourning the loss of her one true love, but she wanted to make it sincere, "We just- we hung out a few times outside of work," Remember, she told herself, ten years old, "And life happened. His got better and mine...got worse. I got into some trouble."
Henry nodded, "And went to jail."
Thank god he didn't ask for details there, "Yeah," Emma braced herself to really sell this performance, with a little change in the timeline... "And before I went, I found out I was pregnant with you," Henry gave a smile and Emma couldn't help but echo it- he really was the best kid, and if this lie was what was best for him, Emma would play it to the hilt, "And, I tried to contact him," she leaned forward, about to explain why they wouldn't be able to contact this man, this myth, "And I found out, that he died saving a family from a burning apartment building. So, you think I am the savior, Henry? He was. Your father was a real hero."
Emma watched Henry absorb the story she'd fed him. He gave her a small smile. It wasn't the truth, but it was what Henry needed and what Henry deserved. Emma couldn't tell him the truth.
It would break his heart.
Ada sat with Marco as he watched Nicholas carefully sanding a birdhouse for him.
"They've been very good," he told Ada with a grin. The man clearly thrived around children- she'd watched him interact with the twins and it was practically magical how fast he'd been able to pull smiles from them. He'd even made Nicholas laugh a little earlier. "Nicholas- he, ah- he has some good skill. Hard to believe no one had already, eh, taught him."
Ada gave Marco a grin. "Thanks again for looking after them," she said, already expecting the Italian man's reply.
"Pish," he waved his hand at her, "I enjoy helping them. Children are, ah, precious. And you," he tacked on, waving an old rag at her as he began to go back to his own work, "I am always happy to help."
Ava came and sat beside Ada on an old work bench as the boys continued with their artistry. Ada turned to give the girl a reassuring grin when she saw something clutched between the blonde's dirty hands. Ada felt her prickings raise the hairs on the back of her neck at the sight of it.
"What's that?" she asked before she could stop herself. She suddenly remembered a picture of twins, a paragraph to the side talking about a compass pointing towards home.
Ava looked up, "My mom gave it to us. It's a compass. But it's broken," Ava sighed, her shoulders slumping with dejection, "She said it was our dad's."
Ada held out a hand, "Can I see that, please?" Ava looked at her critically, measuring up her worthiness for the privilege of holding such a treasured object. Ada knew what was going on in Ava's head. After all, she barely shared with anyone the old bracelet that her father had given her own mother before they died. Emma had seen it, just like Ada had seen Emma's baby blanket, but neither had ever actually discussed these relics of their pasts.
After all, every kid they knew had always held onto something.
Ava delicately placed the compass into Ada's cupped hands, and the redhead gave a solemn smile at the honor before examining it herself.
"I think," she whispered to the girl, "We've found your dad, but I'm not sure how to prove it- could I take this with me? Like a test- to make sure he's the real deal?" If the curse was keeping everyone apart- maybe they could use it to their advantage; use the compass to break through to the twin's father.
Ava examined her once more, eyes sharp and largely distrustful. But there was a gleam behind all that that told Ada to be patient, the girl would put faith in her given some time. And indeed, Ava gave her a serious nod.
"You're going to keep us together, right?" she confirmed as Ada delicately tucked the compass away in one of her pockets.
Ada looked her fellow orphan straight in the eye, "I will do everything it takes to keep you with your brother. I wouldn't want anyone to take my sister away, after all."
Emma was the queen at pushing through. The Swans told her she wasn't their real kid and sent her off to a foster home so they could have their own baby? She pushed through. A foster father would have rather smacked a kid around than take one to a carnival? She could push through. The foster family she was sent to were looking more for a meal ticket and an extra worker around the house rather than a kid? She could push through. The one person she thought she could trust abandons her and sends her to jail for his crime? She could push through. She finds out she was pregnant by the man who betrayed her more than anyone else ever had? Even then, she pushed through.
Finding out the town her precious kid was sent to was cursed and he was trapped under the thumb of an Evil Queen? Realizing her long-lost parents are apparently residents and she's been living with her mother (who doesn't remember she's her mother) for the past few months? Henry asking questions about his biological father?
It was probably the hardest one of all, but Emma was pushing through.
One crisis at a time. First: the Zimmer twins. Second: alcohol.
She watched as Michael Tillman looked through the papers she had just handed him, detailing Ava and Nicholas's lives in dispassionate, factual black and white words. Forms filled out and filed, names written down, facts, cold and hard, with two small photos of children unhappily looking out at a man who never had a chance to know them. Until now.
The man handed it back to her, "Not possible," he declared.
"Actually," Emma argued, "It is."
Mr. Tillman shook his head, taking a step back, "Sorry. But Dory, she wasn't my, my," he gave up trying to find a suitable word and held up a single finger before turning back to a car held up for repairs, "It was just once."
"Sometimes that's all it takes," Emma pointed out. Wondering if it was possible Storybrooke's Sex Ed program was even worse than the one she went through.
"I met her when I was camping. And," he fiddled with some tools, clearly nervous, "We um…," he stopped himself there, "No, it's not possible. I don't have twins," Tillman insisted.
Emma was now done with the soft touch. She wasn't even sure why she had started off that way- tact really wasn't her specialty. "Yes," she told him, her words firm, "You do. You have twins that have been homeless ever since their mother passed away. Your twins have been living in an abandoned house," she felt herself getting more and more emotional as he continued to work on the car, outwardly ignoring her, "Because they don't want to be separated from each other. Your twins are about to be shipped off to Boston, unless you step up and take responsibility for them."
Michael gave a grunt has he cut his hand on the vehicle, turning to Emma and confessing to her lowly, "Look, I can barely manage this garage. I can't manage two kids," he backed away, turning back to his tools.
And then, like an angel of mercy, Ada descended. "It's not about managing," she inserted as her heels clicked with each step she took into the garage.
"I'm sorry- who are you?" Mr. Tillman turned to see a redhead in tall heels, a vibrant green dress, and a brilliantly white jacket saunter into his garage.
"Ada Ward," she introduced, holding out her hand to shake, uncaring of the grease and oil on the man's hand as she grasped firmly. "I'm a child advocate. I speak for the kids. And as I was saying: it's not about managing. It's about caring. Do you feel anything for them at all? They're twins, they've always had each other for their whole lives- even when their mother passed, they still had each other. Ava is the leader, she makes sure everything gets done. She plans and she takes care of her brother. Nicholas is quiet, he's barely said five words together since we found them, but he's creative. He's been helping Marco out for the afternoon and seems to have some talent. And he clearly adores his sister. They're everything to each other, all they're really able to count on."
Michael sighed, rubbing his hands on his face, smearing grease, "Are you so sure they are mine?"
"Aside from the timing?" Emma asked, not sure how to explain that according to a fairy-tale book and her son that they really are family and are under a curse, and that a hint from a skeezy Pawnbroker translated by the redhead rocking back and forth on her heels to Emma's left led them to an auto repair shop and him.
"Have you ever seen this?" Ada asked, holding out her hand. Emma looked over and saw, resting in her sister's palm, a compass, glass cracked, broken, worn and old, with its chain dangling in the air. The man moved towards it slowly, as if drawn by a force he didn't quite understand, and Emma felt a small chill go up her spine as the man reached out and took the compass into his own hands.
"I lost this," he whispered, holding the compass as if it was something more, almost like it was telling him something.
"Let me guess," Emma couldn't help but sarcastically ask, "Twelve years and nine months ago?"
Ada rolled her eyes and not-so-subtly stepped on Emma's foot. "You interrupted the moment," she hissed at her sister.
Emma winced and glared at Ada- those heels hurt.
At Ada's glare to fix it, Emma sighed and turned back to the repairman, "I know it's a lot, believe me, I know. A month ago, a kid showed up on my doorstep, I gave up for adoption, asking for help with… something. I ended up moving here for him."
Tillman nodded, "I heard about that. It's the mayor's son. But staying in town is a lot different from taking him in," he corrected.
"I don't have my kid, because I don't have a choice," Emma told him, thinking of the custody battle that was on the horizon, the driving need to get Henry away from anything that caused him pain, "And I'm trying to change that. You have a choice right now. Those kids did not ask to be brought to this world. You brought them into this world, you and their mother. And they need you. If you choose not to take them, you are going to have to answer for that every day of your life," Emma swallowed, thinking of her own newly discovered parents. They hadn't wanted to give her up at all, but she still had questions. She still felt like she had been rejected. "And sooner or later when they find you, because believe me they will find you," Emma paused, taking a breath, remembering Henry on her doorstep, remember entering the loft with Mary Margaret, finding David by the bridge, "You are going to have to answer to them."
"I'm really sorry, I don't," he shook his head, placing the compass back in Ada's hands, "I don't know anything about being a dad," he turned and walked away, heading for a back office, "If it's a good home you're looking for, it's not with me."
Emma stood there, feeling defeated, and Ada's eyes sharpened, staring at that back door.
"Don't worry," she told Emma, "I'm not done talking with him yet."
"Talking to him isn't going to change anything," Emma shook her head. "He won't listen to us- he doesn't...he doesn't know how it feels."
"We just need to get through to him," Ada insisted.
Emma sighed and looked back down at the papers in her hand, "Hard to believe, isn't it?" she asked Ada, "We had papers like these too. A kid is really just a bunch of forms filled out and one crappy picture."
Ada turned to look at her sister, her eyes wide, "Emma," she breathed, grabbing the blonde's arm in a tight grip.
Emma's own eyes widened as well, "Oh," she said, turning to look at her sister. "Ow," she said after a moment, "God, you have got one hell of a grip for a tiny person."
"Not sorry," Ada said in a rush, already walking, heels clacking with each step, her head planning, "Moment of realization- we need to plan. Let's go to the loft."
Emma stared after the redhead for a moment before jogging to catch up to her, "Just to be clear- we're both thinking if he sees them-?"
"He'll never give them up. The compass wasn't enough. We need a connection." Ada knew it was the curse keeping this family apart- the trick was breaking through it.
"I really hope this works," Emma sighed.
Ada grit her teeth, "You and me both."
Mary Margaret and David were both in the loft when Ada and Emma stormed in. The redhead briefly thought it was a good thing the two were in the early days of their romance, or she shuddered to think what she might've walked in on.
She once walked in on Emma with a guy- not something she ever wants to repeat.
"Is everything okay?" Mary Margaret immediately asked, straightening up from where she had been leaning in towards David. Emma tried very hard not to roll her eyes as she noticed the teacher subconsciously pulling on her outfit as if trying to hide wrinkles that would've told what exactly she had David had been up to.
Emma was pretty sure it had all be very tame- which only made it harder not to roll her eyes.
And then she remembered that these were supposedly her parents.
"No, it's not," Emma said, heading straight for the stove to make some hot chocolate. Mary Margaret couldn't control her wince at Emma entering the kitchen, and quickly began the process for hot chocolate herself, not willing to risk Emma destroying more of her appliances.
Emma paced.
Ada sat down with a huff, "But we have a plan."
"A risky plan," Emma corrected.
"Let's keep positive here," Ada argued.
"A- it's chancey at best!"
"May I just remind you-"
"Girls!" Mary Margaret cut in, clapping her hands together. Ada and Emma suddenly had a flash to what it must be like to be one of Miss Blanchard's students. "Going to need a little background here."
"He doesn't want the kids," Emma sighed, sounding defeated.
"Yet," Ada jumped in quickly.
"What's happening?" David asked, still lost.
Ada rolled her eyes and sat up straight, "Well, there's these twins- Ava and Nicholas Zimmer. Their mother passed away a couple of years ago, and they've been living rough and on their own since then. Their father is Michael Tillman, who had no idea they existed until this afternoon. Regina, Queen Bitch that she is, called CPS and is insisting the twins get carted off to Boston orphanages where they'll be separated."
"Ada bought us some more time on that," Emma added in for good measure.
"So we need to convince Mr. Tillman that not only would he be these twins' best chance, but that he actually wants them," Ada summed up.
"He didn't want the kids when you told him?" Mary Margaret cut in, frowning at that.
"And you haven't told the twins, I'm guessing?" David concluded.
"They're staying with Marco for now," Ada said, "And he told me they can continue to stay there for however long we can get or until their father comes for them. We're hoping it's going to be the latter option, not the former."
"We can't tell them," Emma winced, "Because all we'll be telling them is that the false hope we gave them is exactly that."
"It's not just about that," Ada insisted, "They want to know who he is, whether or not he's going to step up. They deserve an answer, just like us. If we can't convince him, I'll figure something else out. But this is the best option if we can get it."
"The truth can be painful," Mary Margaret cut in, trying to break up the sister's squabbling, "But it can also be cathartic."
Ada snorted as Emma muttered, "I agree on the painful part."
"Hey, look, you told Henry the truth that his father is dead and he's handling it great," Mary Margaret tried to council, having talked with Henry while Emma had gone to see Mr. Tillman, and all Henry had wanted to tell her was what he had learned about his father.
"Wait- what?" Ada cut in, not having known Henry had asked about his biological dad.
"I didn't tell him the truth," Emma admitted.
"What?" Mary Margaret's voice was largely drowned out by Ada's, but it was still heard.
"Okay- I think we're all missing something now," David cut in, trying to prevent everyone from talking over each other.
Emma sighed, already feeling exhausted and sat at Mary Margaret's table across from Ada. The schoolteacher came over with three mugs of hot chocolate and sat down as well David, seeing that the third hot chocolate was not for Ada, took a seat as well. Apparently being a part of Mary Margaret's life meant getting involved with the two sisters from Boston.
He really didn't mind.
"Henry asked me about his dad and...," Emma looked at Ada, begging for some sort of validation, "I couldn't tell him the truth."
Ada sighed, "It would've broken his heart."
"But he was asking, and I had to tell him something but I had no time!" Emma's eyes went wide as she continued to look at her sister, hoping Ada would tell her she did the right thing. "He's still been so sad since- and I couldn't tell him what had really happened."
"Emma," Ada said, reaching her hand across the table to grasp her sister's, "If you're asking me if you did the right thing: I don't know. I don't think there's really going to be any way to know except seeing how this all pans out. I think you should maybe tell Henry some of the truth in the future, when he's older- I guess. I mean," Ada sighed, "It's not exactly an appropriate story for a ten year-old. Then again, I can't imagine ever breaking this to Henry."
Emma saw Mary Margaret and David's confused looks as they tried to fill in the blanks. "Henry's father was no hero and trust me, he does not need to know the real story."
"No, he does not," Ada chimed in, grimacing at the thought of Neal.
"I take it we're not a fan of this guy?" David asked.
Ada's scowl said it all.
"But- what do we do about the twins then?" Mary Margaret asked, bringing them back to the original point. The four adults looked at each other in silence for a few heartbeats.
"Well," Emma spoke up, "Ada came up with a plan."
I really struggled with this chapter, and I'm still not satisfied with it. Really, it was the scene between Ada, Henry, and Emma when they discuss the curse. I'm just...not happy with that scene. Henry knows the curse isn't normal, but it is his norm. So in some ways, Henry's kind of zen about it at this point, especially since he knows Emma's going to break it. But then there's Emma and Ada who want to have a meltdown, but they can't with Henry and they need to keep moving and they need to help Hansel and Gretel. It was difficult to balance all the things that needed to happen in this chapter.
So, check out my Tumblr for all the info on what's gonna happen romantically (I hope nobody drops the story because it isn't what they were hoping for...hope you guys keep reading no matter what happens there); please leave a review of the chapter and tell me what you think! Thanks for all the reviews, the favorites, and the follows as always. You guys are the best.