*** For those of you who don't know I simultaneously post on here and A03. The diversity of the two groups never ceases to amaze me. If interested in that kind of thing, Yolliegirl and DeedNay have left some awesome topic discussion in the comments section of ch. 34. It's def worth checking out.

Either way, I hope you enjoy! ***

CHAPTER 36

"Okay my little prince. It's that time now," Regina wiped Blue's mouth after her feeding and burping.

Fae gave her a long pout as he slowly got up from the floor where he'd been playing with Lola and Lenny. He just as slowly walked over toward the bed. Regina chuckled but didn't let it get to her. She'd been dealing with putting difficult kids to bed for a while. No matter how cute her son was she knew if she didn't cut him off now and make him lie down then he'd be impossible to deal with all day long tomorrow.

Both kids were bathed, brushed, and pajamaed. Now that Blue had her last feeding for the night they were both ready to be down.

"Come along little one," she patted the bed next to her. "Let's get comfy," she said as she transferred Blue to her bouncy chair where it faced her Mum and brother. She set it on low and allowed it to gently sway the baby back and forth as she collected the pillows and stacked them behind her.

She grabbed Fae and tickled him as she swung him up onto the bed. She plopped him down to the side of her and leaned down over him.

"Hey you," she whispered as she stared in awe at her soon to be son.

Fae gave a long exaggerated blink once in response to her. And the light shining out through his thick lashed eyes made her fall for the boy even more. The two had developed a pantomime since he still seemed to show no sign of speaking again on his own. Their therapist had warned her not to put too much pressure on him about the situation and his voice should return naturally on its own but she still would've loved to hear it for herself.

In the meantime, the whole family was taking classes in sign language. Even Blue was going to be onboard. Baby sign language was said to help improve verbal development and increase the bond between Mother and child. It also helped increase cognitive and emotional development.

Technically, his adoption hadn't been finalized yet. But since the only thing they were waiting on was the court date to make it official, the home was allowing him to spend the next few weeks with her as a foster child.

"Are you ready?" she asked after she helped him get snug between the sheets. Lola jumped up and made herself comfortable next to Blue. And Lenny wandered off until all the sappiness that was going on in his bed had calmed down. Then he'd take his rightful place on his thronelike cat bed that sat at the foot of the bed.

Fae nodded and looked up at her expectantly. She knew she was going to have to wean him to sleeping in his own newly decorated room but for now she really enjoyed having her children around her at all times. She gave him one last kiss to his forehead before turning to her nightstand. She grabbed the book that she'd put together for him.

Fae was going to be a member of the family and she'd already introduced him to some of her magics. He seemed to enjoy watching her fire play in her hands and the other small things she and her family had allowed him to see.

The book was a way of explaining who they were and how they came to be a family. It was basically the same as Henry's book. Except unlike the abridged version that Rumple put together, it explained all their history from the very beginning leaving nothing out. When Blue came of age she planned on getting her own copy to keep.

She glanced at her baby and saw that she was nearly out. Blue's long lashes were fluttering and Regina reached out and ran a hand through her wayward hair smiling at her baby fighting and losing her battle with sleep. "Now," she turned back to Fae who was patiently waiting for his story. She put on her glasses and leaned back against the pillows propped up at her back. She gathered him close underneath her arm and started to read, "Once upon a time there was a miller. He had no sons but he did have a daughter who …."

CF

Emma swiped the key card into the lock before opening the door with a flourish.

Henry strolled behind her with the same bored expression on his face that he'd been wearing the entire drive into town.

"Seriously kid? I spent a lot of money on this suite."

He gave her a thin-lipped smile, "It's good." He strolled over to the floor to ceiling balcony doors and opened them. He walked up to the railing and looked out. Though he was in the middle of another growth spurt the railing still met his chin.

Behind him Emma tipped the porter as she directed him which room to drop their bags of in. "Be careful out there," she called in warning.

After bidding them a nice day, the porter took his leave. She turned back towards her son. "So what do you really think?"

"It's the same as it was the last time I was here," he shrugged clearly unimpressed.

"The last time?" Emma said to herself as Henry plopped himself on the sofa and grabbed the remote. He began to flip through the channels looking for something interesting.

She'd had no idea there had been a first time. She'd been under the impression that Henry had never really left Storybrooke before coming to fetch her. Though it shouldn't have surprised her seeing as this was the hotel that Regina had taken her to on one of their excursions away from town when Henry had spent the weekend at some kid's house.

Since Storybrooke wasn't supposed to exist, she'd had to find a place outside of the town to get their passports and visas. She wasn't so oblivious as to not be able to recognize that the two of them were in a slump and needed some major changes to happen in their relationship in order to get their happy endings.

Henry had been shut down from her for a while. When they'd first come together they'd bonded over Regina not allowing them to be with one another. But after the curse broke, Henry was so thrilled about being a Charming and Emma was so confused by the entire situation that she'd pulled away.

But she was a Mother now. That meant putting aside her personal feelings to ensure that her child had everything he needed.

"So, I looked into a few things," she waited for Henry to turn and focus on her before grinning and saying with as much enthusiasm as she could, "First we're going to order some room service. The drive here has been brutal. Then I thought we'd take a nap because tonight …," she waited for him to show as much excitement as she had. Henry instead stared blankly at her. "Let's just say tonight, we party!" she cheered as she added a headbang to her arms that were waving above her head.

Henry wasn't amused. He wasn't a little kid and he didn't take naps. But breakfast had been pretty far away. The drive up here had taken hours and they'd only stopped twice for snacks and to stretch their legs. They were only here anyway because it was a step Emma had to take to be closer to her baby and leaving the only world they knew behind. "Sure," he shrugged.

Emma grabbed the hotels room service menu and began to peruse it. The happy waitress looked really good but she decided to go with something healthier since what she had planned for tonight was going to really tank their blood sugars. She called in their order for 2 organic club sandwiches and waited.

Henry had gone from channel surfing to checking out the room as they waited for their meal. Emma continued to flip through the destinations guidebook that had been left on the table for them.

She'd done heavy research before getting there. She knew she wanted a place where she and Henry could just kick back and have fun. So she'd chosen a place that she already knew well but had never had the money to actually enjoy it the way she'd planned to this time around.

Regina's job offer had been a godsend. She honestly had no plans or wants to ever come back to this place again. And she would deal with the whole 'parents' thing later. There was always skype and visits if she ever got homesick though she doubted she ever would. Being with Blue and leaving her only made it clear that moving to be near her was the best option for her which meant it was best for their whole family.

They ate at the dining table with Emma pointing out things to hopefully pique Henry's interest and Henry just grunting or shrugging away any suggestion. After lunch they each went to their bedrooms. Emma immediately fell into a deep sleep while Henry played around with his phone while watching Harry Potter.

Upon awakening Emma practically jumped out of bed from excitement. The night she had planned for them was going to be awesome. She washed, brushed, and dressed quickly. Though she wanted to take more time to appreciate the luxurious bed and bath getting out and exploring the city took precedence.

After rounding up Henry and getting bundled into their coats, they were out the door.

They started the night with a stop for hot dogs at a cart that she had previously frequented. She pointed out a few of her old haunts as they quickly continued on their way to the real surprise she had lined up for him.

After a short subway ride where Henry got to know the joys of public transportation which is the only way to truly count yourself as a New Yorker, they arrived at their destination. "Tada!" Emma threw her arms out as she danced in front of the building that was every child's dream.

Henry gaped wide eyed up at what purported to be 3 floors of pure candy deliciousness. Dylan's candy bar was every kid's dream come true. That is right after Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

"Right?" Emma nodded with a huge lopsided grin as she grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. They walked around for a while dazed at all the sweets that were right before their eyes. That was until Emma noticed the prices. Then she set down a budget for both of them.

After exploring all of the shelves and busting their budget twice over, the two of them ended their night over in the café. While Henry sat admiring his candy tattoos and ooing and aahing over his haul. They had chicken salads and shared an order of cheese fries which Emma reasoned would help soak up and counteract the sugar that was racing through their systems. Then they finished the meal off by sharing a s'mores best of both worlds.

It was the first time in a long time the two of them had just spent a day being silly and having fun. Emma really didn't want to end it on a bad note but knew there were a few things she needed to talk about with Henry.

"Soooo- ," she began and waited for Henry to make eye contact with her. "Tomorrow we'll get the pictures and head to the office so that we can get our passports and visas. I think it'll be great to have a family photograph. Then after we get comfortable in our house we can take more with your sister."

Henry shrugged and went back to his dessert. He'd accepted that this was going to be his life. That didn't mean that he had to like any of it.

Emma had already explained that she would be working with Regina at her school though she'd left out the boring details. Honestly she wasn't completely sure what her job would be outside of assisting Regina. They'd worked together before so she foresaw no problems with this. But the pay was good, the free rooming couldn't be beat, and the time with her daughter would be priceless. She just knew it was going to work out great for her and their family.

"I need to talk to you about some of the changes you're going to see when we get there."

Henry started to slow down his slurping of the milkshake as he felt his stomach start to tighten. This entire thing was something he didn't exactly want to have anything to do with. But hey… he was just a kid. No one ever bothered to ask him anything about anything anymore.

Emma took a deep breath, "so – ," she exhaled loudly. "See – what had happened was – Regina is adopting a little boy." Once Henry's face registered his surprise she went on quickly, "He's 3. And he's going to be Blue's brother. But no matter what you're going to be her oldest brother," she tried to put a cheery spin on the admission. "And no matter what it'll still be the 3 of us against the world. You know, like the 3 Musketeers," she gave him a cheesy grin.

Henry dropped the straw sat back against the brightly colored booth. For a minute he just sat staring into space. Then he grabbed his bag of candy and began to head off.

Emma sat stunned before she scrambled to catch up. "You don't want the rest of your ice cream?" she asked as she searched her pockets for a few dollars to leave as a tip.

"No. I just want to go - ," Henry had started to say home but then he had to stop. He had no home anymore. His Dad had told him that home was wherever his family was. He was now starting to doubt even having that anymore. He looked over his shoulder at Emma. "I just want to leave," he amended with a look so sad it had Emma silently cursing Regina all over again.

She threw her arm around the boy and pulled him close to her side. He was getting so tall she had to settle for her arm going around his waist since he now came up to just above her shoulder. "It's okay. I've got you."