So I know it's been a while since I have posted but my life has been pretty insane lately. I went back to school and took the MCAT so i had to sort of abandon the story to study for it but it's over so I can write again. I have pieces of the next chapter written I just need to weave them all together so I don't know how long that will be. I also have the first part of the next chapter written for NGL but I need to figure out how to finish it so I'm hopeful that one will be updated soon as well. To tide you over I'm posting some small scenes I couldn't quite figure out how to work into the main plot of this story but still like. Enjoy!
"Ah Emma there you are." Mary Margaret said as Emma and Connor came down the stairs from the loft. "We need the two of you to babysit for Alexandra tonight while we go out with Ella and Thomas and the others."
"Did you already volunteer us?" Emma asked.
"Yes." Mary Margaret nodded.
"Well thank you for making sure we were ok with it." Emma said dryly. "But we already have plans."
"It would mean a lot if the two of you would do this for us." Mary Margaret said.
"Neither of us has ever watched a baby." Emma shook her head. "This is a terrible idea."
"You're doing it." Mary Margaret said firmly. "It will be a good lesson in why you to do not want a kid and therefor should not engage in any activity that could result in one."
Emma raised her eyebrow and held up a finger. "As I am your child I feel like I should be insulted by that."
"I meant until you're ready." Mary Margaret crossed her arms, close enough to Emma by this point to know she wasn't really offended.
Emma knew that there was no arguing with her mother on this point so she decided to turn on the weak link… her father. "So what happens when it goes wonderfully and we decide that we make a great team and don't want to wait to have a little one of our own?"
Emma kept a straight face as she watched the color drain from her father's face at the threat. He pulled his wallet out and handed a wad of twenty-dollar bills to Connor. "I'll pay for you to take her out myself. Just keep her far away from here."
"Oh that's not…" Connor held up his hands but Emma cut him off, plucking the money from David's hands.
"Don't argue." She warned before turning to David. "Thank you. We'll have fun."
"Not too much." David warned.
"We won't." Emma smiled and grabbed her coat, leading Connor out the door.
David turned to see Mary Margaret shaking her head. "What?"
"You are so easy." Mary Margaret rolled her eyes.
"Do you want our daughter being a mother at sixteen?" David asked.
"No." Mary Margaret shook her head. "But neither does she. She was working you to get out of it, and she did. To top it off you just gave them over a hundred dollars to go have a date on. She is very good."
"It was a preventative measure." David insisted.
"You're just easy." Mary Margaret walked over and wrapped her arms around her husband. "Lucky for you I find it very attractive how much you want to protect her. But she would have worked you every day had she grown up in the Enchanted Forest."
"And I would have let her." David said sadly.
"Me too." Mary Margaret agreed softly.
"You guys have got to try this." Belle grinned as she brought over a pitcher of water. "It's a water cleanse and it does wonders. I found it on the internet and it was so simple to make. You know the internet is amazing. It's like a giant library, everything you could ever want to know!"
"It's like knowledge is her turn on." Ruby grinned mischievously.
"It's fascinating." Belle defended herself as she handed a glass to Emma.
"I think she's more in love with it that she is with Gold." Emma teased as she took a drink of water. "This is really good Belle. What's in it?"
"It's supposed to do great things for you skin, and it makes you feel amazing." Belle nodded. "It's really simple, just water, lemon, lime, orange, and cucumber."
Emma choked mid gulp, her hand flying to her throat. She shot a panicked look to a very pale looking Mary Margaret.
"What?" Belle looked confused.
Mary Margaret snapped out of her shock, grabbing her purse and searching through it. "She's allergic." She produced to pink tablets and handed them to Emma. "The Benadryl will have to suffice for now. Come on."
"Where are you going?" Ruby stood up.
"The hospital." Mary Margaret tossed her keys to Ruby and pulled Emma to her feet. She handed her a glass of plain water and watched as the girl swallowed the two pills. "You're driving. I'll sit in the back with her. I told you we should have an epi-pen."
"Is this really the time?" Emma wheezed as they hurried to the car.
"Focus on breathing." Mary Margaret rubber her daughter's back, her voice firm but gentle. "Don't talk, everything's going to be ok."
"Not worried." Emma breathily insisted as she and Mary Margaret got into the back seat.
"Yea well I hope that's not the case because if it is then you're absolutely insane." Mary Margaret tried to force a smile through her worry.
"How is she?" Ruby glanced over her shoulder.
"She's fine." Mary Margaret's voice wavered slightly but her face was sure, simultaneously assuring her daughter and herself that everything would be ok.
"How are you feeling?" Mary Margaret rubbed Emma's hands.
"Getting harder to breath." Emma said slowly, focusing on her breaths.
"But you can." Mary Margaret squeezed Emma's hand. "That's good."
Emma nodded, not speaking as it was taking more and more effort to get in a breath. Ruby swung into the ER bay and Mary Margaret was out the door in an instant, pulling Emma behind her. Her eyes scanned the room before they fell on Dr. Whale speaking to a nurse. "Whale!" Whale looked up as Mary Margaret hurried over to him. "Anaphylaxis, she accidentally drank cucumber water."
"Get me an epi-pen." Dr. Whale ordered the nurse before guiding Emma to an ER cubicle. "Everything's going to be fine Emma."
Mary Margaret kept a firm, reassuring grip on Emma's right hand. She never once let the panic inside her show in her eyes, keeping a confident look for her daughter's sake. The nurse returned with an epi-pin and Dr. Whale quickly removed the cap. "This is going to hurt a little bit."
Emma nodded as Dr. Whale plunged the needle into her leg, flooding her body with epinephrine. Emma let her breath even as she felt her chest slowly start to relax.
"How are you feeling?" Dr. Whale asked.
"Better." Emma nodded.
Mary Margaret sighed with relief and pulled her daughter into a hug, kissing her temple. "You are going to give me a heart attack."
"Sorry." Emma said weakly.
"It's ok." Mary Margaret said. "You didn't know. But you are definitely carrying an epi-pen around from now on. That is not up for discussion."
"I figured." Emma agreed as she pulled away. "What would you have done in the Enchanted Forest?"
"There were herbs." Mary Margaret shrugged. "Surprisingly effective though. But I am definitely grateful for the better medical care this world provides."
"Science." Emma shrugged, trying to still her shaking hands so her mother wouldn't notice. "Who knew it would be so important."
"It's why school is so important." Dr. Whale added.
Emma shot Whale an 'oh-come-on' look. "I don't think I'm really the person you need to be giving your stay-in-school speeches too. It's probably safe to assume I'll graduate and go to college."
Dr. Whale was about to respond when Ruby rushed into the cubicle, having parked the car. "Is she ok?"
"Yes." Dr. Whale assured her.
Ruby looked at her goddaughter who still looked pale and tired. "Is that true kid?"
"I'm fine Ruby." Emma promised.
"My word Ems you scared me half to death." Ruby pulled her into a hug.
"That's a lot better than the real death I would have experienced had I not gotten here in time." Emma said ruefully before the impact of what she was saying registered. She really needed to start thinking about these snarky comments now that she had people that actually cared about her.
"Not funny." Mary Margaret said firmly.
"Yea." Emma looked down sheepishly. "I didn't really think that one through."
"Clearly." Mary Margaret said.
"Is she ok? I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" Belle's words were rushed as she and Ashley burst into the room.
"She's fine." Mary Margaret gently assured the scared woman. "Everything is ok."
"I'm so sorry." Belle shook her head miserably. "If something had happened to your daughter..."
"But it didn't." Mary Margaret cut her off. "She's no worse for wear. You didn't know."
"Really I should know better than to consume things that I don't know the contents of." Emma added.
"I'm still sorry." Belle insisted.
"It's fine." Emma promised. "Besides if anything, Mary Margaret should be thanking you."
"Excuse me?" Mary Margaret turned a bewildered look to her daughter, wondering if the lack of oxygen had in fact done some damage.
"She's supremely overprotective and you just gave her the perfect reason to make me carry an epi-pen, which she has been bent on for a while." Emma explained. "Plus she can use this an excuse for all her neuroticism for at least a couple of months."
The adults in the room all laughed as Mary Margaret wrapped her arms around her daughter. "You're a piece if work Emma Swan."
"Looks like karma had given you a handful with this one." Ruby smiled.
"Don't I know it." Mary Margaret agreed. She glanced at Whale. "What do I need to do to get her out of here."
"I just need to fill out some paperwork and ill get you some epi-pens to take home. I shouldn't take long. Take it easy today Emma. As much as I enjoy your presence you have spent entirely too much time in this hospital in the past year."
"No arguments here." Emma agreed.
Mary Margaret turned her attention to her daughter as Whale excused himself from the room. She affectionately tucked a stray piece of hair behind Emma's ear. "You look tired."
"I am." Emma admitted. "And a little shaky."
"You can rest when we get home." It was both an offer and an order. "Your friends will have to survive movie night without you."
"I don't know if they'll manage." Emma joked.
"They'll find a way." Mary Margaret said. "You're spending the night in bed."
"I don't think the after effects last that long." Emma raised an eyebrow.
"Humor me." Mary Margaret pursed her lips.
"Come on Ems." Ruby tried to get her goddaughter to acquiesce. "We can have a girls night in and make sure your mother doesn't have an aneurism. It's a win-win."
"Normally I'd argue…" Emma started.
"But…" Ruby prompted.
Emma glanced at the woman in her room and then to her mother. "But it's nice to finally have someone who cares."
