In stressful situations you cause problems without realizing it
"Okay, sit here... just... sit down." Emma guided the brunette back to the kitchen and pointed at one of the empty chairs.
"No, Emma. I won't sit down until you tell me where we are!" She stepped into the small room and jumped a little when she noticed the two other people in it. She spun around and with her eyes wide open she whispered. "And who the hell are they?"
"What happened?" Morgana asked. "Snow, are you-..."
Emma cut her off quickly. "Mary Margaret..." She said with a meaningful look. "Her name is Mary Margaret and she doesn't remember you..."
"What do you mean she doesn't remember us? Is she hurt?"
Emma shook her head and was about to say something, but Lucas interrupted. "Great! Just when I thought we could have a little rest, she gets into trouble! Tell me, what happened now? No, no, no, let me guess... Aliens abducted her and erased her memory?" Although his tired voice showed that the sass came from exhaustion, Emma gave him an angry look.
"It's not funny, rabbit guy." She glanced at Morgana with a desperate look. "It's a problem."
"And a big one." The raven-tressed girl stood up and came closer to them, but Mary Margaret backed away.
Emma gave her a reassuring look, but she couldn't hide the concern in her voice. "It's okay, she's a friend. We can trust her. Just... sit down, please. I have to talk to her for a sec. I'll be right back, I promise."
Emma gently forced the brunette to sit, even though she was still suspicious and visibly scared. Emma couldn't look her in the eyes, she still saw her mother in them. She turned to Lucas who was seemingly annoyed with the situation. He dropped himself on a chair opposite of Mary Margaret's and swung his feet oto the table as Emma spoke. "Watch over her for a few seconds, will you? This time without causing trouble, if possible..."
Lucas raised his hands defensively. "Hey! I never was the cause of anything. You, sweetheart, on the other hand were responsible for everything that happened since you bumped into me..." However he sighed when he saw that Emma was about to start arguing with him again. "Fine! I'll babysit her, just be quick, 'k? If anything happens to mama bear here, I know I'll be blamed for that too..."
"Mama bear?" Mary Margaret threw him a questioning look, but he just waved his hand.
"I know, it's not the best nickname I could come up with, but... I'll figure out something that fits you more! Just give me some time." He winked at her.
Mary Margaret's desperate look begged Emma. "Please, don't leave me here with him..."
Emma still didn't look at the brunette, her narrowed eyes were fixed on the smirking man. "Don't worry. He is a jackass, but not as bad as he seems. Plus, he owes me big time, I saved his worthless life..."
"Yeah, thanks for that, but I don't remember asking you to!"
"Enough!" Morgana interrupted. Emma threw her a surprised look, she would have never expected that this shy girl had such a big voice. Morgana blushed, but continued. "We have plenty of things to figure out. And this isn't the way to do it. Lucas, behave and stay put! S-... Mary Martha, you will be safe here, just don't leave his side, alright?"
"It's Mary Margaret..." She corrected automatically and searched for Emma's eyes. The blonde seemed to avoid her, but she became determinate and stared at her hard. She grabbed hold of her arm, which finally made Emma's gaze turn to her. Mary Margaret whispered with a shaking tone. "Just hurry back, okay? I don't like us being separated..."
Emma knew the brunette couldn't understand the weight that her words carried, but the world spun around her. This was so much like Mary Margaret, but when she reminded herself that this woman was her mother, these words gained new meaning. Emma also realized that it had always been there, she was simply too blind and headstrong to see it. Knowing that Mary Margaret was unwitting of this, just made it all worse. She could only give her friend's hand a reassuring squeeze and rush out of the room. Talking was something that required much more than what she was capable of at the moment.
Morgana followed her in silence.
When they reached a bigger room with a billiard table and a lot of liquor in it, Emma stopped and turned with tears glittering in her eyes. She used all her will to keep them at bay.
"Are you... okay?" Morgana asked gently, but with one brief nod the blonde moved on. She needed to concentrate. My mother and my best friend are counting and depending on me! Damn it! Pull yourself together, girl!
She explained their story in a nutshell; where they came from, how they got to the Enchanted Forest - as Morgana had told her it was called after hearing her description of the land -, how she met Lucas and the most important thing: the problem with her mother's dual personality. Emma tried to make it clear - she needed to get her mother back, without having her best friend disappear again.
Morgana's expression showed, that the bomb of information Emma had dropped on her was a little bit more than what she was able to comprehend. It took her a few seconds to grasp every word the afflicted woman had spluttered. Finally, she shook her head.
"I'm not sure that's possible..." Before Emma could pelt her with her concerns, she raised her hands rapidly. "Emma, Emma, let me explain! First of all, I still don't understand how two personalities could share her body. However, from what I understood they cannot exist simultaneously. Like they are two parts of a whole... I can only guess, but my bet is on the curse. It has to do something with it. You know about the Queen's curse, don't you?"
Emma nodded, but shook her head at the same time, which ended up being an odd headshake. "I mean, I've read about it, but... I never believed it was true. I still don't, to be honest. Or... I don't know. Everything that's happened is beyond crazy, magic, ogres and all... But to tell the truth, I haven't had much time to chew on things lately..."
Morgana put her hand on the beat up woman's shoulder and with an encouraging look she raised Emma's hope. "Then I know just the thing we need to do."
Lucas gnawed on the sunflower seed he had found in the cupboard out of boredom.
The humble-mouthed brunette sat exactly the way her daughter had left her, staring at the ground, glancing up at him every now and then. He had to admit with astonishment that this scared girlie was indeed a different person than who he had met before. The fierce and self-confident queen was gone and replaced by a nun. Whoa. That's what I call a U-turn.
However, he couldn't help but feel amused by the situation. And the fact that blondie left her mommy with him. He snapped at himself in thought. He was being a douchebag again. Well, if you have no one to be nice to for twenty-eight years, you have to learn control over your sass all over again.
"So..." He spewed the crust of the sunflower seed on the ground. "... this is all new for you, eh? "
For an answer he got a quick nod and a brief glance at him. When their eyes met, the woman pulled her gaze off Lucas, but in this split second something happened that made Lucas change his attitude. It might have been the worried look the woman constantly threw at the door or the fact that he realized what a screwed up situation she was in. Whatever it was, it made Lucas commune with himself.
What the... how can this woman have this kind of effect on me? It like...
But he didn't finish the sentence, not even in his mind. It was too painful to think back to his childhood and the longing for to see someone look at him the way this woman gazed at Emma.
"It must be hard..." He said thinking aloud, but the words caught the brunette's attention.
"What?" She hadn't overlooked the sudden change of tone.
Lucas grimaced. "Seeing her all grown up... And not even knowing why."
The woman pursed her forehead, but before she could speak Lucas continued. "I mean, no matter what you call yourself, you haven't seen her in twenty-eight years... I don't know what it's like to be a parent, but I'm sure as hell that it wasn't easy. I mean, letting her go." He paused for a second and then went on, now talking more to himself than to the brunette, who made a funny face, but remained silent.
"Y'know, my mother had always been kinda a hard-ass. Never fully satisfied with the things I did, never truly trusted me, hell, never really cared about me. But y'know, she was my mother. I loved her anyway." He sighed. "I tried very hard to make her proud, to be a good boy..." A short laugh slipped his mouth. "Yeah, right. I could've run away for all she cared..." His marveling eyes turned back to her. "I haven't thought about her in a very long time. But seeing you with your daughter, it's just... not fair, y'know. Not at all..."
"My what?" The brunette finally gave voice to her confusion. Lucas turned back to her from the fireplace.
"Your daughter. Emma, I mean. You'd do anything for her... I never thought I'd say this, but I'm kinda jealous of her, damn it..."
He could see that his words got the woman by surprise and he finally heard the silent voice that was humming all along is his head. "Her name is Mary Margaret... and she doesn't remember you."
Oh wait... maybe she doesn't remember her own...?
Her widely opened eyes and strange expression assured him that she had no clue what he was talking about.
"What on earth are you mumbling? Emma... being my... what?!"