Double Trouble 50
A/N: Woohoo fifty chapters! *throws confetti*
Chapter 50 'Border insecurity'
Town Hall
Regina heard her phone beep with a new message as she was driving into the parking area at Town Hall the next morning for work. She parked in the space allocated to the Mayor and then checked her phone screen. When she saw who the message was from and its content she rolled her eyes. They'd been apart for barely ten minutes. Emma must've just arrived at the station herself since she replied back within seconds.
Sheriff Awesome: Hey Regina, my queen of queens. Nice three piece suit you're wearing today. Really brings out the gay in your eyes.
Henry's Mom: Like you can talk. Are you or are you not currently wearing Hugo Boss men's cologne and rainbow striped socks under your clothes?
Sheriff Awesome: That might not be completely inaccurate :). You seem awfully interested in what's under my clothes, Madam Mayor.
Henry's Mom: Sheriff Awesome? I see you've infiltrated my phone security and edited yourself in my contacts list. More like Sheriff Bane-of-my-existence. Magic?
Sheriff Awesome: As if. I didn't even need to hack it. Your password is 2001. Henry's birthday. Same as alarm system at work. Too easy.
Henry's Mom: Exactly how many times have you gained illegal access to my office and/or residence?
Sheriff Awesome: Just once each, I swear. Oh and that time I broke in to your bedroom to go thru your underwear drawer last year.
Henry's Mom: I don't believe you, you're bluffing. I know everything.
Sheriff Awesome: Missing a pair of panties with little red apples on them are we?
Henry's Mom: I do not own any such thing.
Sheriff Awesome: Not anymore you don't… they've been in my possession ever since. They are RIDICULOUSLY cute Regina! I laughed my ass off when I found them you know. Whenever you were giving me attitude I used to picture you wearing them and that's when you lost your power to terrify me. But then I was sad because I wished I could see you in them for real. I was half in love with you already and you wouldn't give me the time of day :'(
Henry's Mom: I was busy. Trying to kill you. Trying not to fall for you.
Sheriff Awesome: How did that work out?
Henry's Mom: Not well. Disastrous in fact. Apparently I've fallen for an uncommon thief with a penchant for filching ladies' underwear.
Sheriff Awesome: Stole your heart didn't I? Sounds like you're into some kinky shit.
Henry's Mom: I'll be into you later.
Sheriff Awesome: JFC! You're like a puppy. I give you a toy and you won't let it go. I've created a monster.
Henry's Mom: That better not be a backhand way of calling me a bitch. Don't even try to pretend you haven't been enjoying it too. I distinctly remember some begging last time...
There was a long pause during which Emma didn't send a reply. Regina checked her watch. She didn't have the time to sit around and wait for another message, especially if Emma had gotten distracted by a donut or the dartboard. She had a meeting scheduled but whoever it was could wait a few more minutes. She was the Mayor after all.
Regina got out of the car and slung the straps of her handbag and laptop bag over her shoulder. While she was walking to her office building she tapped out another message on her phone, intending for it to be the last. She ought not to start the conversation up again but couldn't help herself.
Henry's Mom: I like you when you're like this. Speechless.
Sheriff Awesome: What about imagining you naked on my desk? That's the other thing I'm doing right now. I know you like your toy but I know what you love even more… *lick*
Henry's Mom: Sheriff!Don't you have anything important to do? For example: file paperwork, fight crime, save the town?
Sheriff Awesome: Yeah I should really get on with that. I don't know what to do. MM is going to kill me :(
Henry's Mom: If she does I'll make sure she regrets it. There's still time. Talk later. I have a meeting now and I'm already late.
Sheriff Awesome: Of course you are, puppy monster. You always gotta make an entrance don't you.
Henry's Mom: Call me that again and your future will be very unpleasant.
Sheriff Awesome: Sigh, I have to go. Is dinner at MM's ok? I know we were only just there but I want to see them again.
Henry's Mom: Yes. See you tonight x.
Sheriff Awesome: xxxxxxxxx!
Mary Margaret's apartment, later that evening
Regina was in the kitchen with Mary Margaret helping her with the dinner preparation. She was slicing vegetables with a knife in a way that could not be considered "brandishing" or a threat in any way. Emma had gone downstairs with David to check Regina's car because it was making a funny noise and so the other two women were left alone.
It was neither subtle nor amusing.
"Is Henry enjoying fifth grade?" said Mary Margaret, trying her best to make neutral conversation no doubt.
"Very much so," answered Regina. "He has always found schoolwork easy enough but socialising with other children is something of a challenge. He has some friends now at least."
Mary Margaret smiled happily. "That's great! I'm so glad to hear that. I have been concerned about him at times. I worry that he's going to turn out like his mother."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Regina snapped. She stopped what she was doing and put down the knife in case she was tempted to use it.
"Not what you're thinking. I meant Emma, not you. She has trouble with emotional attachment. You are the opposite when you allow yourself. It's amazing that you two saw each other over the walls you've both put up. After what happened to you when you were younger and my part in it, I truly am happy for you. I remember when Daniel-"
"I can't have this conversation with you. Ever."
Mary Margaret seemed to heed the warning for what it was and went back to stirring the extra ingredients thoroughly. She took the saucepan back to the stove to let the sauce simmer. Regina watched her every move carefully. Anything the former princess did made her suspicious she was being manipulated. Did Mary Margaret have an agenda with these questions or not?
"Where are the kids tonight?" Mary Margaret asked Regina over her shoulder.
"Em and Ri are at home."
"Alone again? Don't you worry that they're… getting up to something?"
"I know they are. It's better that they're safe in the house than running away to be together or getting intoxicated. Emma and I don't see the problem with it any more."
"But both of you are biased, they're your younger selves."
"And you're not biased?"
Mary Margaret conceded with a gesture. "True. I suppose I'm not sure how I feel about my daughter having sex at her age. She's so young."
"Em has matured a lot recently. Recall that you and I were both married when we were her age or not much older."
"It was a different world then."
"Yes, but in every world trying to stop teenagers from doing anything is an exercise in futility."
"Mmhm, we'll see if you feel the same way in a few years when Henry starts dating. Where is he tonight?"
"Having dinner at the Meadows's house with his friend Jenna and then going to a movie with her and her brothers and cousins. Mrs Meadows is going to drop Henry off afterwards."
"Oh! I know Jenna Meadows, she's a sweet girl. Very serious at times. Her brothers are a handful but they're all good kids. I'm not sure why but Mrs Meadows is always distant with me for some reason."
Regina smirked to herself. "That's because she's one of mine. As Em would say: she's Team Regina."
"Ah, well that explains it." Mary Margaret smiled back, apparently deciding to let Regina have the upper hand this time.
Emma had been trying to persuade her that she did have supporters here but Regina had struggled to accept it. In her youth she had wanted to be a beloved Queen, if not a beloved wife, and had given up long since. The masses were fickle and the position of Most Popular Royal had already been filled. Regina had tried at first but she was thwarted by her mother's politics in her head, her grief over Daniel in her heart, and the King's orders that she stay behind while he and his insipid daughter toured the countryside.
In the Fairytale world her feud with Snow White had been a fire that consumed their entire lives but for the commoners it was nothing more than the petty squabbles of the healthy-wealthy. Snow White had the lion's share of the people on her side and nothing she did was wrong in their eyes. She had been the Royal sweetheart since the moment her birth was announced. The young Queen Regina had a tough enough time winning the kingdom over before she went evil let alone after. Sacking their villages and ordering their deaths did not exactly earn her their favour.
But the Evil Queen had not been entirely bereft of supporters. Her ruthless opposition to the deceased King's rule attracted the disenchanted, the marginalised, and the mercenaries who had been passed over in the Ogre Wars in favour of child soldiers. Regina employed them. Their stomachs became gratefully full, their children thrived, and they cared not whether her motives were corrupt. In a world where life was cheap and short already she earned their continued services despite her tendency to snap incompetent necks.
One family who had benefited from the Evil Queen were now called the Meadowses in Storybrooke. Regina had been too self-absorbed at the time to know one Elite Guard from another, but she did reward loyalty handsomely and apparently the father had risen swiftly through the ranks of her army. His pre-teen sons were no doubt headed for premature death-by-Ogre and the fate of penniless girls like his daughter was potentially worse. In her own twisted way she had saved the whole family from destitution.
Regina had not cared back then but she did now. Now that she was getting to know Janet and her family she was relieved that she'd brought them to Storybrooke. For Henry at least. She wasn't quite ready to admit that she another reason which some might label as 'compassion'.
"I think Henry has a crush on Jenna," said Regina, hardly knowing why she was bothering to restart the conversation with Emma's mother when she didn't have to.
"Ohhh!" Mary Margaret cooed. "That's adorable. He's growing up so fast."
"Maybe too fast. He doesn't want to be seen with me in front of his friends anymore."
"That happens. The very fact that he's able to leave you and make new relationships is because he's had emotional security with you since he was a baby. As his mother you were there when you had to do everything for him, including seeing him naked and changing his diapers and feeding him by spoon. He wants it to look like he doesn't need you much anymore but he knows he still does. He's different with Emma because he's never had to rely on her in the same ways as with you."
"Apparently I'm still needed to drive him places and buy him things," said Regina ruefully.
"At least your child calls you 'Mom'," teased Mary Margaret. "I'm still training mine to do that. My older one that is. She is a tough cookie. My younger one gets at my weakspots and somehow convinces me to feed her obsession with Converse. 'But Mo-oooom these ones are totally different to my other ones, these ones are silver! I need them.'"
Regina smiled at the imitation of the younger Emma. "Em will certainly take you for a ride if you let her, but she has changed so much since she's been here. Do you remember what she was like when she first got here? She was angry and defiant, especially towards adults. We could barely take our eyes off her for five minutes without her causing trouble in some way. She's become much more responsible for her own actions. She only needed to be feel trusted."
"Yes, and you were the first to give her that." Mary Margaret sighed. "She was carrying so much resentment for David and me. I'm so grateful for this chance to get to know Emma in this way though. It's a small part of everything we missed out on and we've gotten the chance to give her our love as well. As starved of family as she was it didn't take long for Em to respond to us."
"To Henry too. Something has changed for her. I'm not sure what, but she seems to have warmed up to him recently. The three of them get along very well these days..."
Dinner went as well as could be expected. There were arguments, threats of violence, and references to old grievances… it was exactly like a normal family dinner for them. Emma thought it unwise to let her mother and Regina have steak knives. She would've preferred all forms of weaponry to be out of range but they both behaved themselves. Sort of.
The argument started over something trivial. Regina's sass was in fine form as usual and Mary Margaret was righteous when she felt herself to be right. David and Emma put up with it without trying to intervene but when their spouses both turned to them for backup, father and daughter exchanged identical expressions that said: "We're fucked."
Emma wondered if she would ever get used to this. Having dinner at home with her parents and her partner. She drank in the family atmosphere as if she'd been dying of thirst in a desert. She couldn't get enough of it at the moment. Would this ever feel like everyday normalcy? Something she'd done thousands of times like others her age had with their families?
Mary Margaret returned from the kitchen with the dessert that Regina had brought. Poison apple crumble, of course. Regina failed at hiding a predatory smile as she assured them that the 'poison' was merely a harmless secret spice, a very old recipe of hers. Everyone recognised the power play for what it was: either they all had to eat something which bore similarity to the Evil Queen's favourite murder weapon (in which case Regina won) or they could refuse and hence look like superstitious cowards (in which case Regina won).
"We should make Emma taste it first." Mary Margaret glanced at David.
He nodded. "Good idea. Regina probably wouldn't kill her. Although there was that turnover incident."
"Uh, guys?" said Emma. "I'm sitting right here. I can hear you."
Mary Margaret continued with David as though she hadn't heard. "I always was annoyed that I nearly died from an apple. I used to love them. I haven't eaten one in years. But that apple crumble does smell delicious."
"It might be worth the risk," said David. "Regina is a good cook when it comes to apples."
"Emma eats them all the time so they must be ok."
"I'm sure it's fine."
Mary Margaret smiled. "Yeah. You first."
"Me?" said David.
"Yes, you. Flex that chivalry muscle, Charming, or it will atrophy."
Regina was bemused as she served up her creation in four plates and handed them around. Emma stubbornly refused to take a single bite until Mary Margaret and David started theirs, she was unwilling to sacrifice herself to be her parents' official food tasters. Regina might've been pissed off at her for some reason and she wasn't ready to die yet.
"Oh dear," said Regina, with her special mix of super-polite innocence that meant she was up to something. "I forgot a dessert fork for myself. I'll go get one. Why don't you all start without me?"
David picked up Mary Margaret's hand like they were co-criminals at the gallows about to be hanged. "On three?"
She nodded once firmly. "One. Two. Three!"
The two of them took their first bite of crumble in unison just as Regina sat back down at the table.
"See? Nothing to be afraid of. You're right that Emma eats my apples all the time. She says they're her second favourite thing of mine to eat."
SPLUTTER! Both Mary Margaret and David choked on the crumbly dessert they were eating. They had two seconds of relief that they weren't going to die followed by coughing fits caused by Regina's comment.
Emma's reaction was equal parts of horror and hilarity. She was definitely going to make Regina pay for this later but at the same time she was ridiculously proud of the innuendo. She turned to give the smug woman beside her a look. "Really, Regina? Must you do this every time we visit?"
"Alas I must." From her own plate Regina took a pinch of crumble between her index finger and thumb and held it up to Emma's lips.
"Open."
Emma obeyed and made a point of sucking Regina's fingers as they were pulled away. "Mm."
For a coming-together of sworn enemies who now found themselves connected by blood ties the night had been relatively peaceable so far. Emma was about to be introduced to yet another typicality of the family dinner: the Big Fight, where a well-placed comment upon arrival soured the tongue and cumulative annoyances were swallowed with wine and by the time dessert was served somebody was in tears. Her parents and Regina were well-used to fighting with each other and then picking themselves up afterwards fired up for the next round but to Emma … any conflict felt like the end of the world.
As they were just finishing off their delicious apple crumble dessert a frantic knocking on the door interrupted. A series of knock-knock-knocks, each followed by a pause not long enough for anyone to have reached the door before the next set started.
Mary Margaret jumped up to go answer in case it was one of the kids. She opened the door and reeled straight away at the slap to her face.
"How dare you!" Kathryn hissed.
Mary Margaret held her cheek, stunned and confused. "Wha- Kathryn?!"
The others got up from the table and went over to see what was wrong. Kathryn was shaking her head at Mary Margaret with angry tears in her eyes. She was definitely hurting over something. She shook David's hand off her elbow when he tried to comfort her.
"What happened?" David asked her gently.
Kathryn looked at him in disgust. "Isn't it enough that you're cheating on me? Now you're living with her! Are you trying to make me the laughing stock of the entire town, David? You're my husband, you should be at home with me. After what I went through with my abduction I need you more than ever. I want us to work things out."
"Oh god," Emma realised with wide eyes. "She's lost her memory?"
"It seems she still thinks she's married to David," Regina murmured.
"And you," Kathryn whirled on Regina next. "I thought you were my friend. First you covered it up and now you're having dinner with them as if they haven't done a thing wrong! You should be on my side."
"I am," Regina pleaded. "Kathryn, I am your friend."
"No, you're not. A friend wouldn't lie."
"That's why I'm being completely honest when I say that there's more to this than it seems. It's complicated."
"I'm not sure what is complicated about the vow pertaining to 'forsaking all others'."
"The life you remember with David? Those memories aren't real. They never actually happened. You've lost your real memories because of-"
Kathryn stopped her. "Wait a minute. Are you suggesting that I have amnesia like David had? That doesn't make any sense. If I had amnesia I wouldn't remember who I am at all. I'm Kathryn Nolan. I know who I am. I can trust my own mind. Apparently I can't trust my husband or my friends."
"Kathryn," said David. "I can explain-"
His ex-wife threw out her hands like she was so tired of dealing with his crap and turned to leave. She almost ran smack-bang into a man who had just appeared in the doorway. The friendly-faced guy had floppy brown hair and wore a dark track suit with stripes on the sleeves and gym trainers on his feet.
"What are you doing here?" she said, frustrated at the obstacle the newcomer posed. "Why are you following me everywhere I go?"
"Abby, please, listen to me-"
"I told you, I'm Kathryn. I'm not whoever this Abby person is."
"Right, Kathryn," he corrected himself. "I know you don't remember me but I just want to make sure you're ok."
Kathryn pushed straight past him and left. He sighed as if it wasn't the first time getting the brush-off from her.
"Tommy?" Mary Margaret recognised him as Kathryn's boyfriend and the PE teacher at her school, he was the Storybrooke version of Frederick from Fairytale Land.
"Sorry to barge in on you all at dinner time, Miss Blanchard," Tommy apologised.
Mary Margaret quickly introduced her husband, her daughter, and Regina. "What happened? What's wrong with Kathryn?"
"She doesn't remember me anymore. Or remember being Abigail. She's only Kathryn Nolan now, I guess." Tommy rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged despondently.
"Since when?" asked Emma.
"The other night, after she had cocktails with you girls for her birthday, I drove her out to a quiet spot in the woods for a dinner picnic. We've been so happy together for the past six months. I was going to propose to her. I don't know what happened but she freaked out. I drove us back into town and she started acting like she had no idea who I was."
"I'm so sorry," Mary Margaret said sadly. "She's not the first in town to lose her Fairytale memories."
"But we're working on a way to cure it," said David. "In the meantime stay away from the woods. Don't worry, we will get her back."
Tommy nodded but there was no hope in his face. He gave them a goodnight wave and left.
Mary Margaret closely the door slowly. She turned around and leaned back against it. The four of them stood around in silence, each mulling over this disturbing new development in the shrinking Storybrooke problem.
Emma didn't know Tommy at all and she didn't know Kathryn very well, but she knew what they must be going through. This was not like some random dwarf losing his memory, this was someone she knew, someone important to her family members. She couldn't even imagine how much it would hurt if Regina didn't remember her. If she lost her one day and there was no guarantee that they'd ever be together again. After everything they'd been through… the sudden disappearance of their memories? The worst part would be that she wouldn't even know that she'd lost someone.
Or perhaps her heart would remember what her mind did not. Wait a minute… when Regina and I met in Storybrooke it wasn't the first time. We didn't remember that we met as Em and Ri. Is that similar to what's happening now?
"Are you happy now, Regina?" demanded David.
Regina started. "Excuse me?"
"Do you see the kind of suffering caused by your curse?" said Mary Margaret with a sigh. "Poor Kathryn. Tommy looked devastated by it. This is such a mess."
"Kathryn's not upset about the curse," Regina pointed out. "She doesn't even know. She's upset because her husband cheated on her with you. That's not my fault, it's yours."
"For heaven's sake it's not Mary Margaret's fault," said David. "You set this curse up. You tore us apart. This is your fault if it's anyone's."
"If I recall correctly I tried to warn you both about hurting my friend. I didn't force you to cheat on your wife, David, you did that on your own."
"No. But you did force me to betray my real wife. That was definitely intentional. Kathryn was merely collateral damage in your war against Mary Margaret."
Emma took a deep breath and verbally stepped into the three-way glaring match like the peace offering she was. "Guys, we're getting nowhere playing the blame game. No-one's totally at fault here-"
"Actually there is someone at fault," said Mary Margaret. She spoke at low volume but there was nothing reassuring in her tone.
"You."
"Me?" Emma gaped.
"The night of Kathryn's birthday. Why were none of the dwarves guarding the road out of town?"
Emma was surprised at being caught out. "How do you know about that?"
"Leroy called me. He's becoming afraid of what's going to happen. We all are. Don't you think you should have told us? I specifically remember asking you about the border that night and you didn't think to mention it?"
"Uh well… it was supposed to be Leroy on patrol but he had a date with Astrid. So I uh, let him off duty. I didn't think it was a big deal since the border was stalled anyways and it was just for one night. None of the others could cover for him. I would've gone myself but you insisted I had to go to the party."
Mary Margaret did not look pleased with that answer.
Emma floundered for a better reason and mumbled. "I thought I wouldn't bother you about it until I figured out what to do."
"And have you?"
Emma shifted from foot to foot. She had her thumbs looped in her belt loops and was looking away when she answered reluctantly. "No."
"How could you be so irresponsible, Emma?" cried Mary Margaret. "The entire Council needs to be aware of what's going on. How can you be our leader if you're not acting like one? You haven't delegated or given orders, you haven't kept us informed, you haven't asked for help even though you clearly have no idea what you're doing. We're your parents, if you were struggling you should've come to us. I thought I'd let you go on by yourself and see what you'd do with the leadership, but you've done nothing. Now look what's happening, people are getting hurt. What were you thinking letting things get this far?"
"What was I THINKING?" Emma raised her voice to fight back against the allegations. She was angry and defensive and confused all at once. It was getting out of hand and she wasn't prepared.
"I was thinking that I didn't want to be the stupid Saviour or the Council leader in the first place! All I wanted was to get to know my parents and spend time with my girlfriend and my son. I was enjoying not being alone for the first time in my life. I finally found my family and I didn't want to think about the possibility of losing you again. Anyway, why am I responsible for fixing everything that goes wrong in this place? I don't want this pressure on me. I didn't ask for any of this!"
"Yes, you did. You wanted a family? This is it. You don't get to choose the problems that come with it. This is what family responsibility is, Emma. You were born to be the Saviour. You're a Royal. We have more responsibility than most others. You'll just have to deal with it."
"Yeah, well. It sucks."
"Oh, that's mature. I feel like I'm talking to a teenager, not a thirty year old. You'd be a dead ringer for Em right now except that lately she's been acting more grownup than you."
David tried to defuse the situation by getting between them. "Mary Margaret, it's all new to her, maybe you should-"
"Stop coddling her, David," his wife cut in with a glare. "This has gone on long enough. We have to step in before things get worse. We have to do something. Apparently our daughter is content to let someone else handle it anyway."
"Hey!" Emma objected. "This is the way I am, it's the way I had to be to survive. Yougave me up. My whole life I've never had anyone be there for me when I needed it and I had to learn to cope somehow. You can't blame me for the way I turned out because of what YOU did."
"I know you think I'm being unfair, but I'm only pushing this issue because I know you have it in you-"
"You don't know me at all. You think I'm this poor little orphan who overcame a shitty childhood and grew up to be some virtuous fairytale hero? Perfect and selfless and brave like my parents? That's not me. I'm not like you. I put off dealing with this because I didn't want to. I didn't want you to find out what a screw-up I really am. Well, now you know." Emma finished with sarcasm but it clear that this fight was getting to her.
"But I already knew." Mary Margaret said. She laid her palm flat on her heart as though to keep it from leaping from her chest. "You're my daughter and I love you no matter what. I've tried to show you so many times but you don't seem to get it. You won't call me 'Mom', you won't ask me for help when you need it, you don't confide in me until you're about to break... I have no idea how to connect with you as your mother because you hardly ever give me the chance to get close to you. I don't know what to do anymore. You're reverting again, Emma. You know you have responsibilities now but you don't act like it. What is the matter with you?"
Emma was stunned like a deer in headlights for a second. "I - I'm still angry at you sometimes. I f-feel so bad I can't tell you," came the tiny answer.
She blinked as her eyes filled. What she did next was something none of the other three had ever seen her do. She was trying desperately but she but couldn't stop her chin wobbling. She starting crying and looked around for an escape.
In that second Mary Margaret knew what she'd done. She'd always thought of Emma as strong, she'd thought that pushing her would drive her into action... when in reality all she'd done was heap pressures onto someone with an already full emotional load.
Both David and Regina were reaching for her and came up empty. Emma shook them off, either too angry or too embarrassed, and she ran for the bathroom. The door slammed shut with a bang that shook the thin walls of the apartment.
"Congratulations," said Regina. "You just broke your child."
"She's stronger than she thinks she is," said Mary Margaret, with tears forming in her own eyes. "I know how much good there is in her but this is a serious problem for everyone in the entire town. She should have told us!"
"Don't you dare put that on her shoulders!" Regina hissed. "You're taking out your fear over Kathryn and your own impending loss on to her. Tough love isn't the answer here."
"But she is the Saviour for a reason," David reminded her.
"No matter what she says she is a hero," said Mary Margaret. "We need her to do this. She's the only one who can…"
Regina tsked with impatience. "Yes-yes, I know. You need her to save you all again."
"Or everyone in town will lose their memories for good, just like Kathryn has. I don't want to lose my daughter again! David and I will lose each other as well. We won't remember that we're each other's True Love."
David folded his arms and glared. "Is that what you want to happen, Regina?"
"Not particularly. You occasionally make yourselves useful as on-call babysitters."
Regina glanced at the bathroom door and then took her former enemies aside. She lowered her voice. "Ordinarily I couldn't care less about giving the Charmings any advice. This is about Emma. I know you two have only been parents for five minutes but you should know something about your daughter by now. She's still an orphan on the inside, she always has been."
"And whose fault is that?" said David.
Regina gave him a baleful look. "Yes, Charming, I know. I'm not denying my role in that. Emma and I have made our peace with the past. That is not why I'm telling you this. When I yell at Henry for leaving his shoes on the stairs he knows I'm still going to come home that night to take care of him. Even when he's misbehaving and pushing me to my limits and I'm stressed because of work, my son knows I still love him.
"Emma wasn't raised knowing any of that. She wasn't raised at all. She never learned attachment as a baby and it's much harder to learn it as an adult. When you yell at her she thinks you might sit her at the kitchen table to watch while everyone else is eating and not give her any dinner. She thinks you might make her stand outside on the porch all night in the cold. She thinks you've found a reason to not love her anymore. She thinks like an orphan. Maybe she always will.
"You might assume that because Emma is an adult she doesn't need anything from you anymore but you are wrong. It is not the job of a parent to keep the small human alive for eighteen years and then retire. Parenting is for life. It's not her fault for coming into your lives as a 28 year old instead of an infant and it isn't her fault that she doesn't know how to bond with you. She still needs you, just not as disciplinarians. She needs you to trust her and accept her, even when she's making mistakes. You can yell at her when she's screwing up, which is often, but make sure she feels secure first. Emma doesn't know that things are going to be ok."
Tears had been falling down Mary Margaret's cheeks all throughout her own parental-type lecture. David wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him though her arms felt empty and all of her instincts were screaming at her to cradle an infant who could no longer fit there.
Regina had given her former enemies enough to think about. Emma had opened up about her childhood eventually but only on her own terms and whenever she didn't want to talk she was a closed book. They were similar in that regard, but they were learning that the comfort they found in each other was the best salve for old injuries. The anecdotes she'd told the Charmings had been placeholders for events that actually happened to Emma as a young girl. It made her angry that a child so desperately in need of a good home hadn't found one until she was almost thirty.
Regina went and knocked on the bathroom door several times without getting any responses. It wasn't locked but there was no way she was going to breach the borders of Emma's chosen safehouse. She tried everything she could think of to say through the door, even resorting to the rather embarrassing entreaty: "Open the door, it's puppy monster?"
But even that failed. After waiting almost ten minutes before giving up Regina opened the bathroom door, at first only a crack and then she let the door swing open.
The bathroom appeared to be empty and Emma was nowhere to be seen.
