Double Trouble 51
A/N: I had a hard time preparing this chapter because I realised there was something wrong with it, which is why this has taken so long. There were missing scenes which, when I added them, made the whole thing too long and confusifying. So I ended up splitting it into this and 52 (which is almost ready as well!). The next 6+ chapters or so are going to be one big sequence of events so I've been writing them all at once and my brain helpfully decided to give me inspiration for the later ones before the earlier ones. The good news (for all of us) is that my posting schedule is going to be back on track.
I have other legitimate reasons for my delinquency. I started my new job last week and ran out my internet (again). I am also terribly behind in replying to reviews but I am definitely paying attention to the comments and questions you guys are asking and I appreciate every single one. Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always you guys are awesome :).
Quick recap of 50: E&R had dinner with the Charmings, after which MM and Emma had a fight because people are losing their memories and E hasn't organised a plan for what to do about the border. E is unexpectedly hurt by the parental disapproval and disappears. Regina gives MM and David a parental lecture of their own, reminding them that E is sensitive to perceived rejection after growing up as an orphan. Henry is off to the movies tonight with his new friend Jenna Meadows, and Em and Ri have been left at home by themselves and that's where we begin this chapter...
Chapter 51 'Changed'
108 Mifflin St, earlier the same day
"Ri, where are you?" yelled Em. "I have a huge problem and I need your help!"
Ri was sitting quietly reading a book of magic she found in Regina's hidden shelves. Ever since she'd felt the tingles in her hands the day of the car accident she wanted to know more about her new power. It scared her at first but the more she read about magic the more she began to see it as a benign quantity which could be used as a weapon. As long as she was careful she would be fine resisting it's darker side. What harm could come from learning more about it?
Em ran in demanding attention with her mere presence. The pregnant teen had become overly dramatic lately (everything was a crisis to her and her emotions were all over the place) so Ri wasn't that alarmed by it. Yet.
Ri raised an eyebrow but kept her eyes on the page. "Are you calling our baby a problem, dear?"
"Not that problem," said Em. "There's a bigger issue at hand which is that I'm starving and I don't have any food."
"There's plenty of food in the fridge. Regina went grocery shopping two days ago. What are you hungering for. Chocolate?"
"I want something green. Celery."
"There's salad from yesterday."
"I ate it already. Hey, what's that look for? I had a midnight snack last night geez. I need more greens. I'm growing a person inside me and he's stealing all of my food. The little parasite is hungry again."
Em sat next to Ri and nuzzled her face into her neck. She whined. "Riiii. I love you and you are the most beautiful girl in the entire universe, but if you don't somehow get me some celery right now it'll be really really evil of you and I might cry. You don't want to be evil do you? Do the right thing, which is get me celery. Please please please?"
"Ok ok," Ri sighed exasperatedly. She closed her book. "But I am not stealing from the neighbour's garden again. It never ends well. Do you want me to walk to the shops and get you some?"
"Yes. Hurry back, it's an emergency."
Ri smiled and pecked Em's cheek. "The things I do for you."
Less than an hour later when Ri got back from the shops with a brown paper bag full of groceries she found her girlfriend completely engrossed in playing a video game in the den. Em was mashing the xbox controller furiously and sticking her tongue out in concentration as the animated characters duelled it out on the TV.
"Em, I'm back," Ri announced herself expecting a happy reception. "I got more salad for you, some rocket and watercress since you devoured those last night. Here's your emergency celery."
"Huh?" Em took her her eyes off the screen for barely a second. "Oh, I don't want that now. I'm winning. I'll have it for dessert later."
Ri sighed good-naturedly at the fickleness of the 'emergency' request. "You silly thing. Alright, have fun playing your game."
"Oh hey, Ri? Regina texted me to say that the others are having dinner elsewhere tonight. What should we do? You wanna go out?"
Ri had been waiting for an opportunity just like this. Her heart began to pound and she tried to react normally rather than too excitedly so that Em wouldn't be suspicious. They'd be alone in the house tonight for dinner, just the two of them. The others couldn't have done her a bigger favour if she'd asked them to make themselves scarce.
"How about I cook and we'll have a lovely dinner at home?" Ri suggested. "I'd like to make you something special, maybe a vegetarian meal that won't upset your stomach. Regina has been teaching me a few things so I think I can manage by myself."
Emma stared up at Ri and pouted. Her eyes started to water. "You want to make me dinner? That's so cool. My little martian Ri knows how to cook like a grownup. I love you so much, please don't ever leave me. Do you still love me? Even though I'm annoying and ask you dumb stuff all the time?"
"Oh, Em, don't cry. Of course I love you, even when you're being annoying. Especially then."
Ri put the groceries on the coffee table so that she could sit down. She gave Em a kiss and enveloped her in a hug. The game was quickly forgotten, which was just as well because Em's character was dead on the screen and that might've caused another flood of tears.
The Meadows's house, afternoon
Jenna wanted to show Henry her room for a few minutes. Mrs Meadows had picked them up from school and cooked them an early meal so that the kids could go to the movies on a school night. They were still waiting for the twins to gel their hair and choose clothes that were cool enough to be seen in public in so the younger two went off alone.
Henry noticed straight away that Jenna's room was messy. As disciplined as she was with her form and posture she was the complete opposite with regard to her personal belongings. Her student desk and shelves were piled with stuff, haphazardly arranged. It was a girl's room so Henry wasn't that interested but Jenna showed him her favourite doll and her collection of karate belts and trophies she'd won at athletics over the years. She didn't have any comic books at all but she did have a copy of The Chamber of Secrets laying around on the floor so all wasn't lost on that front. Maybe they had something in common at least.
Henry hadn't been to many other kids' houses before but he noticed that Jenna's room was much smaller than his and he knew the twins shared so the Meadows family probably didn't have much space to spare. Certainly it was much smaller than his house or any of the others in affluent Mifflin Street.
"So what do you think?" Jenna said, standing in the middle of her room.
Henry fished for something polite to say. "You've got a lot of trophies."
"Yeah, karate and athletics. I'm pretty good. Which sports do you play?"
"None."
"Oh."
"I… read a fair bit," Henry admitted, feeling totally lame.
Jenna nodded. "Yeah, that must be why you're so smart. Does your Mom make you do lots of homework?"
"Kinda… I mean, yeah. Yes." Henry changed his answer quickly, figuring that it was less uncool to make it sound like his mother made him do it rather than choosing to. His new grade five teacher made a point of singling him out in class for getting such good marks but it didn't exactly endear him to the other kids. He didn't want Jenna to think he was too smart.
Jenna picked up a photo frame from her shelf and showed him. It was a family photo of the Meadowses. She pointed to each family member and told him their names. She had a big family with lots of cousins but the only two girls in the youngest generation were Jenna and a much older teenager called Jess. They were pretty close by the sound of it.
"Hey, do you think we'll be able to leave Storybrooke one day?" asked Jenna.
"I'm not sure."
"If I wanted to leave town would your Mom let me? I know you have magic too because of what happened at school. Could you do it?"
Henry frowned. "Nobody can pass through the border without losing their memories."
Except me and Emma. Henry didn't mention that though. At the moment nobody in town could leave with the border preventing it but hopefully that would change soon. After the curse broke the people of Storybrooke found out that they were trapped and they also started aging again. Which meant that the youth were growing up knowing that they were barred from seeking out the rest of world: travelling, going to college, or following any other dream requiring a location change.
But I can leave if I want, Henry had realised a long time ago. What if the curse had never been broken and only I grew up? Would Mom have let me go away to college? Would she have told me the truth eventually?
Everyone was stuck here. They couldn't go back to Fairytale Land (even if they wanted to) and they couldn't participate fully in this world either. Of course some of them would want to leave. Eventually there would be a crisis if the population kept growing and aging… and if the town kept shrinking. The border had to go.
"Is that why you wanted to be friends with me?" Henry asked casually. He looked down to where his hands were tucked away in his jacket pockets. "Because you want to leave Storybrooke and you think I have the magic to do it?"
"No. I can't leave the Queen unprotected. But one day maybe, it'd be good if someone could leave..."
Ugh, that wasn't comforting. Henry wasn't sure what was worse: Jenna wanting to be friends with him to get to his magic or because he was the Queen's kid. Did she really like him at all?
Before Henry could ask why she wanted to leave town Jenna's twin brothers came into the room and started picking on their sister. They flicked her pigtails in her face and tried to tickle her middle. Was that normal behaviour for siblings he wondered?
"Jase! Don't make me hurt you," Jenna warned. She slipped out of his headlock and air-kicked his shins.
"Jennaaaa," they taunted her. "Jen-Jen. How's it going with your new boyfriend."
The littlest Meadows child reached up to make a mess of one of the twin's gel-styled haircuts.
"Argh, Jen, get off!" said Jackson. "You'll wreck it."
"You started it!" argued Jenna. "Your hair looks stupid anyway."
"It does not."
"Does too."
Jason and Jackson turned to Henry for the deciding vote.
"Mills, tell our sister-"
"-that she doesn't know what she's talking about."
Henry didn't know what to say.
Jenna put her hands on her hips. "Henry, you don't have to listen to my brothers. They only have one brain between them."
The voice of Mrs Meadows called from downstairs."Time to go, kids! Anyone who isn't in the car in two minutes is getting left behind."
The twins bolted out of the room jostling each other for the lead calling dibs on the front seat as they went. Jenna ran after them leaving Henry standing alone trying to absorb the chaos of this family which was so different to his own.
In three seconds Jenna was back with a smile telling him: "Come on, hurry up!" Her two plaits were askew now because of the roughing-up her brothers had given her. She grabbed Henry's sleeve and pulled him behind her out the door.
Em poked her head around the corner of the doorway, just enough to see but to not be seen. Her concealment magic might not be working at the moment but she knew how to be sneaky without it. She had been drawn in by the promising aromas: garlic, frying onion, and something else she didn't even recognise.
She saw Ri flitting about the kitchen tending to the stove, the bench, and the fridge, and expertly managing her many tasks. Ri was wearing an apron over the same dress that she'd bought after their breakup at the B&B (it was her favourite outfit) and she had her hair loose and falling in long chocolate curls down her back.
Em watched her girlfriend with admiration and awe. Was it only a couple months ago now that this girl was shy and too frightened to talk to anyone? Ri had been so unsure of herself, so afraid of getting in the way or standing up for her right to be present and noticed in the world.
Now look at her! She's changed so much. I'm so proud.
It wasn't just that Ri had picked up how to use modern conveniences quickly because she was smart. The most changed aspect to her was personally - she had become way more assertive and confident in herself. She now knew that her feelings and thoughts were valid internally and that they were valued externally by others.
Em wasn't sure how to account for Ri's growth since coming to Storybrooke but she was thankful for it. Maybe it was due to having the example of her older self and Emma's guidance, together with witnessing Mary Margaret and David's acceptance of Regina after putting aside their long bitter feud. Or perhaps it was knowing that Henry was her future child and finding out that the baby was already on his way that gave Ri the extra shove she needed towards maturity.
Whatever it was, Em was sure that Ri was strong enough to handle whatever life decided to throw at her.
"It's you!" Ri was frowning at her with her hands on her hips. "I thought I heard a naughty little mouse around the corner. Get out of my kitchen, Em. It's supposed to be a surprise."
"I got bored waiting without you. Do you need any help with dinner?"
"No, it's all under control. You are not allowed to help. In fact, you are not allowed to do anything."
"I hope I'll be allowed to eat?" Em joked. "Hey, have you been talking to Emma? Because that kitchen fire thing was totally not even my fault. I can help without burning the place down, I really can."
Ri came over and shooed her away. "Go! Wait in the dining room. I'm going to serve now."
Em gave her a suspicious 'I'm watching you' V-shaped gesture and left to go wait in the mansion's formal dining room. Her jaw dropped when she saw the table. It was set with candles and elegant place settings. Ri had gotten out Regina's fine china and the good crystal glasses. The lighting was soft and intimate, just waiting for the couple to complete the romantic atmosphere.
"Wow," Em whispered to herself.
Ri came in holding two steaming dishes in her mittened hands. "You can sit down, Em."
Em took her place at the table as Ri placed the meals. "That looks great, Ri, and it smells amazing. What is it? Why did you do all this?"
Ri's smile was coy. "We need to eat something for dinner. Why not make it special? It's vegetarian pasta so I hope you'll like it. But if you don't it's ok, I can make something else-"
"Ri," Em stopped her with a smile of her own. "I'm sure it's fine."
The young cook ran off to the kitchen for a second to rid herself of the apron and mitts. When she came back Ri pecked Em's cheek as she passed and then took her own seat.
"Enjoy," said Ri shyly.
As soon as Em tasted the food she announced that she was in heaven and that it was "pretty good, considering you could barely butter your own toast without a servant's help when you got here." All joking aside, she made sure Ri knew how much she liked the meal. It was actually the first dinner she'd been able to get through in a while without feeling queasy.
They didn't talk as much as they normally did, each suddenly shy as though it was their first date. Neither of them could keep the smiles off their faces though, staring at each other in the candlelight. Ri looked extraordinarily beautiful tonight. It might've been the baby hormones making her sappy but Em was sure that she'd fallen in love with her all over again.
After dinner was finished, Ri took the plates away and came back with bowls of icecream for dessert. As a joke she brought a stick of celery too. She wrinkled her nose when Em sprinkled cinnamon on her chocolate icecream and used the celery stick as a spoon. But Em just laughed.
"Ok, now I'm in heaven." Em grinned and took a bite from the end of her 'spoon'.
Ri couldn't eat much since she was too busy trying to swallow her nerves. When she couldn't wait any longer she reached into the pocket of her dress and then placed a small box in front of her. It was black velvet, squarish, just like the kind that jewelry comes in. She placed her hand on top of Em's where it was resting on the table and spoke softly but surely.
"Em, there's something I want to ask you."
Em took one look at the suspicious-looking box in front of her and hastily jumped up from the table. "Uh, let's go for a walk first! Yeah, it's a nice night. We probably won't freeze to death. I'll go get our jackets."
Ri seemed confused and a little disappointed. "Ok. If you like."
With a sigh she picked up the velvet box and put it safely in the pocket of her dress.
Reel Life, Storybrooke's finest cinema
After Mrs Meadows dropped them off around the corner, Henry, Jenna, and the twins entered the quaint old-fashioned movie theatre (the only one in Storybrooke) and were met by two of the Meadows's cousins: nineteen year old Jess and fourteen year old Joel. There was a squabble about who was going to order popcorn resulting in most of the younger ones running off to the food counter.
Henry was left standing around with Jess while they waited in line for tickets. She was dressed more or less like the twins in a hoodie and jeans and she had the same blonde hair that belonged to all of the Meadowses except that hers was cropped short like the boys' rather than in long plaits like Jenna's.
"So you're Henry Mills, the Evil Queen's kid?" said Jess with a smile.
"Yeah," said Henry. "But my Mom is the Mayor now. She's not evil anymore."
"Jenna's told me a lot about you, and of course everybody knows about your mother. Especially now that she's, y'know, dating the Sheriff. Two women. Makes people talk, I guess."
Henry had the feeling that Jess wanted to keep talking about it for some reason, but he didn't know what she was getting at. In fact, the older teenager seemed a bit nervous asking her questions.
"What's it like?" asked Jess, tucking her hands away in the hoodie pocket.
"What?"
"Living with your Moms."
Henry shrugged. "I lived with Mom my whole life and then I lived with Emma for a while. Now I'm living with both of them together, it's the same but better. They don't fight much anymore. It's pretty good."
"Sounds nice," said Jess. Then she lowered her voice to confess. "I'm like your Moms too."
"Magical?"
Jess laughed awkwardly. "Um, no. I meant that I like women. Like like."
"Oh."
"Jenna told me that you have magic too and you used a spell for her. She said that you got even with one of the boys at school who was bullying her... Hey, don't look so worried. I'm not afraid of you having magic, I just wanted to thank you for standing up for my little cousin. You're a good friend."
"I-it um, wasn't-" Henry got tongue-tied accepting the gratitude and accidentally blurted out what he really wanted to know. "Does Jenna like me?"
Jess grinned widely. "Yeah, totally."
Henry let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. He was relieved that Jenna hadn't only wanted to be his friend because of his magic.
They reached the ticket counter and Jess got out her wallet to buy tickets to 'The Avengers' for them all. Henry tried to pay for his own ticket with the money Regina had given him but Jess merely called him 'adorable' and completed the transaction herself. She then suggested that he could pay her back by sitting next to Jenna, which would most likely mean he'd be the one to listen to the little martial artist's complaints about inaccuracies in the stuntspeople's fighting techniques throughout every action scene. Henry didn't believe her when she said that Jenna was trying her best to show off in front of him.
"Let's go find my brother and cousins shall we?" said Jess. She gestured over to the games section where the other Meadows kids were dueling each other at airhockey. From the looks of it Jenna was teamed up with Joel to give her twin brothers a smashing. Her competitive streak was wide.
"Do you know why Jenna wants to leave Storybrooke?" Henry asked Jess.
"I don't think she does. She's never said anything about it, unless it's because she wants to visit me one day."
"It's you that wants to leave? How come?"
Jess shot a glance his way as if to judge whether she should explain. "Well, I wasn't as lucky as your parents. The girl I liked didn't like me the same way. Storybrooke's kinda small so I want to move to a new city, meet some more people like me, and go to college. I'm thinking of going into activism or studying international law or something. There's not much call for that around here."
"I think you will get to leave one day, Jess," Henry said confidently. "My other Mom, Emma, is here to bring back the happy endings. If you need to leave to find yours I'm sure she'll help. You should ask her."
"Emma runs the Kidspace charity right? Mom said something about talking to her."
"Yep, she's a hero even when she thinks she's not. Everything in Storybrooke will be great when Emma gets around to fixing it..."
What Henry didn't know as he made light of the situation was that at that exact moment across town Mary Margaret was consoling herself in David's arms after having a fight with Emma in which she'd tried to convince her daughter of that very thing. Henry had always been the one with the staunchest belief in Emma's heroic character and if he had been there she might have been more inspired to stay and to trust herself for his sake at least.
Last year, Emma's skepticism had only been shattered when her son nearly succumbed to a fatal poison. She had panicked and grappled with the unbelievable truth that she had tried to deny for so long... she was the Saviour.
This time, again, someone she loved would come close to death before the hero in her returned.
