CHAPTER 35

Emma finished her paperwork at neck breaking speeds. Snow had come in in the midst of that and brought her and her Father a plate of breakfast. Then she'd proceeded to practically stand over Emma's shoulder breathing down her neck making sure that the paperwork was taken care of so that she could get him out on bail faster.

Emma had at first wanted to ignore the plate of food. But once the aromas hit her nose there was no holding her stomach back. She hadn't eaten for a while and she was starving. Plus she wanted Snow to know that she understood the peace offering for what it was. She had spent her entire life searching for a family and she couldn't let an argument take that away from her now.

Snow had walked Henry over who just sat in a chair alternating staring at his grandfather and Emma. Emma knew it was a little much for him to take in. She also needed him to understand that actions have consequences. And what his Grandfather had done by allowing him behind the wheel was wrong. Hopefully it would help with his feelings of guilt.

She knew he was already learning about consequences from the fallout of being abandoned by Regina. That was another reason she went through her paperwork quickly. She needed to get over to talk with her about Henry. For all Emma knew, with Jana better, Regina was already headed out of town.

She faxed the paperwork over to the courthouse and tried to engage Henry in smalltalk. He was still being unresponsive although Snow had told her that he'd eaten which was a good sign.

They got a call from the courthouse to bring her Father over for arraignment so that they could get on with setting bail for him. S.O.P's were for Emma to handcuff him and walk him over there. But it was her Dad. So she let him walk over with Snow underneath his arm as onlookers gawked at the family.

Her father pled not guilty after a court attorney was granted to him. Her Mom was a schoolteacher and her father was a deputy. They lived in a tiny loft apartment. They didn't have much in the way of money or possessions. Thankfully the proceedings went quickly and the judge was a Charming supporter. David's bail was set low enough for them to handle and Emma quickly went back to the station to process him out. All in all, being in and out of jail in under 4 hours sounded pretty good to Emma.

Her dad still wasn't holding anything against her. He'd even hugged her on his way out again. She was sure that he was actually happy about it. It helped alleviate his guilt for him to have some consequences. Though they all knew that whatever passed for justice in this town that were full of Charming lovers was going to pale in comparison to what anyone else would suffer.

Emma left Henry with his grandparents while she made her way over to the hospital. She was hoping that Regina was still there and let out a huge breath when she saw that she was. She walked in and focused on Brissa who was flipping through the TV since Jana was asleep. She ignored Regina sitting on the other side of the bed.

"Hey, how's your sister?" Emma gave her a small kiss upon her forehead.

"Good," Brissa smiled at her.

Emma pulled a small lolly out of her pocket. "I saw this and was wondering if there were any little girls you might know who'd like this. Some good little girl who hasn't been any trouble for their Mommies."

"Me," Brissa sat on her knees and reached for the lolly. Emma glanced over her head at Regina giving her a questioning look. Regina sighed but gave her a small nod.

"Oh! You?" Emma pointed to the lolly, "want this? It's just a lolly. A good girl lolly."

"I want it!" Brissa reached for it again.

Emma smiled as she pulled it back and began to unwrap it. "Hey, you mind if I talk to Mommy outside for a little while. I promise you can still see us through the glass there. Is that okay?"

Brissa nodded with her eyes firmly on the lolly. Emma looked over at Regina again as she finished unwrapping it and handed it over to her. Brissa sank back happily sucking on her lolly.

Regina gave her a deadpan stare then huffed. She crossed her arms and looked the other way.

"Please? Just right outside. You owe me."

"I owe you nothing! It's your fault we're in this situation."

Emma grimaced, "Fine. It's all my fault," Emma ran a frustrated hand through her hair and shifted her weight on her legs. "Everything's my fault. I ruin everything. I know. I've heard it my entire life." Regina narrowed her eyes at her at this. "I just – can we please talk for a few minutes?"

Regina sighed and acquiesced. She rose and walked out the door. Emma followed close behind leaving it opened slightly so that they could still see the girls and the girls could still see them.

Regina walked a little aways before turning to Emma with her arms crossed over her chest. "What did you want Ms. Swan?"

Emma huffed at the horrid title but let it go. She needed to keep her cool because what she had to say was important. She didn't want Regina doing one of her flying off at the handle things. She decided to open with what she felt Regina would appreciate the most.

"I arrested my Dad." Emma paused but this got no reaction out of Regina, "He's being charged with reckless endangerment to a child, assault with a motor vehicle, 2 counts of assault, and negligent entrustment. He's out on bail right now but he has a court date in 3 weeks." Emma paused again but when Regina still remained quiet she added, "He's looking at up to 13 years in prison."

"This is Storybrooke and he's a beloved royal. Which means he'll end up with nothing more than probation if not having the entire sentence commuted. Thank you for letting me know," Regina started to walk past Emma back inside but Emma reached out and grabbed her arm. She held it firm. Regina looked pointedly at her arm then at Emma before shaking her off.

"But he will have to face a judge. And I can tell you that he feels really bad about what he did to Jana and to Henry."

Regina shook her hand off and again turned to leave. This time Emma jumped in between her and the door.

"We're not done Regina. There's more. A lot more that you don't know anything about."

Regina quirked her eyebrow and crossed her arms again as she waited.

"Can we – I know I told the kids that we'd be right here but, I really need to sit down."

Regina sighed her displeasure and stuck her head inside the cracked door. She smiled seeing that thankfully Jana was awake again. "Hi my babies. Emma and I need to talk so we're going to be just out here at the waiting room. You can call the nurse if you need something OK?" They nodded and went back to the TV.

Regina led Emma to the small waiting room at the end of the hallway. She took a seat right next to the door and waited.

Emma first fidgeted uncomfortably. Then she took a breath and sat beside Regina with her face and body averted. She steepled her fingers and rested them against her mouth with her eyes closed while she gathered her thoughts.

"I do have somewhere to be Ms. Swan," Regina began tapping her foot impatiently.

Emma frowned in her direction then began, "When I was 3, I was in a really good foster home. They were going to adopt me. Until they found out that they were having their own child," Emma began to choke up. She cleared her throat and continued, "It was when I realized I wasn't like other kids. Some strangers picked me up and brought me to my first child care center. I was terrified. I cried for my parents for a couple of weeks," again Emma had to clear her throat before she choked on the tears making their way up. She wiped at her face while inhaling deeply through her mouth. Regina averted her face.

"They told me that that wasn't my family. I was just a foster child. And they would find me another family. In that time, they moved me through 3 different families who all brought me back because I couldn't stop crying for my parents," Emma's tears were falling now. Regina handed her some kleenex which she took gratefully. She wiped at her nose and mouth and swallowed repeatedly to dislodge the lump in her throat.

She started up again after she was able to regain her composure, "That's when I realized a foster child meant that you had no family. No one wanted you. No one ever wanted me. No one ever chose me for anything. Until Henry came to me 2 years ago," Emma looked ahead because she couldn't take looking at Regina right now. She wasn't sure what she'd see on her face but she didn't want pity. That wasn't the point of the story.

"I have my real parents now. And my son. But I will never forget that first family that just threw me out like I was nothing. I just didn't understand why them having their own child meant I had to go," Emma's voice broke and she tried fighting past the tears but they were coming steadily now. When she had regained some composure she turned to Regina. "If you leave Henry, you will be doing the same thing to him."

Regina's mouth tightened into a line, "According to you all Henry's with his family. I'm not his mother."

"That's bullshit and you know it Regina. You raised him for 10 years. I know we've had words in the past that have been spoken out of anger. But I also know that no matter what I do, I wasn't the one who taught him to ride a bike or soothed him when he was sick. I don't know his first words or how old he was when he walked or anything. He's my son and I love him. But he's always going to be your son too."

"Even with my own family, I still think how different my life would've been if I had stayed with that first family. If they had've loved me enough to keep me. I know they weren't my biological parents but they were the parents that I knew."

Regina shook her head and started to rise and Emma held her back, "You can't do that to him Regina. He won't ever recover. He's barely making it now. He's depressed, hardly sleeping or eating. He has nightmares. You're his Mom and he thinks you hate him. You have to care. And if you leave him," Emma shook her head, "He will never be the same," she whispered.

"I know it's a lot to ask. I know he's been really mean and nasty, well for a while now. But I'm begging you. Because I don't mind begging for my son. Please don't do this to him. He'll never recover."

"If you don't want to see me then, we can set up a schedule or something. Like a pick up spot. But you can't just leave him. You can't just act like those 10 years meant nothing!"

"You and your family have done a great job of that all on your own. Now you've gotten exactly what you wanted and now it's my fault? Typical Charming. I have no idea how you people live with yourselves," Regina sneered and shook her head. She walked back to Jana's room.

Emma sat and pulled herself together. She tried seeing things from Regina's perspective but couldn't. All she could feel was her anger and Regina's sparking off one another. And her hurt and pain after being abandoned by people she once called Mom and Dad.

Emma walked back out to her car and sat staring at nothing. There was one other person that Regina allowed to get close to her. And she would take any chance to not have to watch her son's heart break into pieces. She put the car in drive and headed into town.