Author's note: Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I'm so glad you are still out there reading this.

Chapter 60

Emma never thought she'd say this (never), but she missed school.

It was Monday morning. She'd been at Mary Margaret and David's for two whole days, if you didn't count Friday night when she'd arrived. Emma looked at her watch. 10:37 am. She was supposed to be heading to third period by now.

But after Mary Margaret and David's speech at the town line, it was generally agreed upon that the citizens of Storybrooke would take a few days off to recover, with the exception of the general store and hospital. So school was closed for the next week. She'd finally caught up to Jasmine and some of her other friends on Saturday evening; most of them were taking time to spend with their families, some of which had been split up due to the course. Killian (not that Emma thought of him as a friend, no sir) was nowhere to be seen.

That left her with nothing to do other than bond with her newfound parents. Yippee.

She sat between them on Mary Margaret's uncomfortably small couch, everyone thigh to thigh as they regaled her with tale after tale of their castle back in the Enchanted Forest. It was actually pretty interesting, like something out of a movie. At least it was, when they'd started talking around 90 minutes ago. Without any pictures, Mary Margaret's overzealous description of the gold wall scones got old real fast.

"…and in the winter, the garden was full of…."

Emma nodded, trying not to yawn. She shifted on the couch, tugging the throw pillow she'd been leaning against out and onto her lap.

"…white petunias in the springtime…"

If Emma had her way, she wouldn't be sitting her listening to what was truly a very boring description of a castle she didn't care about.

But late last night, she'd been unable to sleep as she had been for each of the three nights she'd already spent away from home. She'd buried her face into her pillow as she'd sobbed, unable to contain the tears she tried so hard to stuff down throughout each day. Regina, her room at home, even visions of lasagna danced tauntingly before her eyes as she stuffed her fist into her mouth and let her body shake with sobs as quietly as she could manage.

She couldn't let them hear her. Not after she'd gotten the wish she'd made so many years ago as a lonely foster kid, to find her real parents.

Earlier that day, they'd taken her shopping for things to make the room feel more comfortable, more hers. She'd insisted she didn't need anything, but they'd fought back, and ended up filling the truck's bed with items she didn't need.

Emma had stared at the fancy clock radio that now sat on the bedside table; months ago she'd begged Regina for it, only for her mother to say dismissively that maybe she'd get it for her birthday.

Mary Margaret and David had added it to their shopping cart after Emma had barely glanced at it in the store. They hadn't even noticed or mentioned its its extravagant price.

And yet all Emma wanted now was to throw it across the room.

A sound downstairs had caused her to scramble up. It was a strange sound, almost like a low moaning. She'd really hoped it wasn't what she thought it was.

Emma had tiptoed across the room in the darkness, hitting her ankle on one of the many shopping bags that still sat on the floor. As she'd neared the door, it had become apparent that no, Mary Margaret and David were not having some late night fun. Instead, it'd sounded like someone was crying.

"…so grown up…" It had been Mary Margaret, her voice thick with tears "…a stranger."

"I know." A low voice had murmured. David, obviously. "…barely knows us."

"…unfair….taken away…" Mary Margaret's voice had grown a bit stronger as Emma had lowered herself onto the first step. "She's our baby, Charming. And she calls Regina her mother. Of all people!"

"I know," David had repeated. "I'm angry too. But what can we do? We didn't know what else to do. That was the only way to save her. We had to give her her best chance."

"I love her so much already." Mary Margaret had sobbed. "But I don't know if she feels the same way."

"Give it time," David had said. But he'd sounded uncertain.

So Emma sat dutifully on the couch now, listening as best she could. She nodded at all the right places, and asked clarifying questions when it seemed right. It was kind of chilly in the apartment; Mary Margaret kept a throw blanket around, which sat on an armchair currently. Emma wanted to grab it, but that seemed kind of rude.

She started to trace the bird stitched onto the pillow. She'd started to keep a running tally of the number of bird themed items in the apartment. She was up to 38 so far, and she hadn't even been in all of the closets yet.

"Snow." David interrupted. "I think you're boring her."

"Oh!" Emma shook her head vigorously. "No, no it's fine, this is really interesting. Keep going!"

"It's okay." David chuckled. "I stopped listening a while back too. Our castle really was beautiful, but I didn't care much for choosing between drapery colors either."

"Sorry. It's just a bit hard not being able to picture it, ya know?"

"I wish we could take you there so you could see what your home would've looked like. It really was very lovely." Mary Margaret said wistfully.

"Your apartment is nice too." Emma insisted. "It's very…cozy. I like it."

"But nothing compared to what it used to be." David said.

There was nothing Emma could say to that. She could feel Mary Margaret and David exchange a glance over her head, something she was starting to realize they were quite fond of doing.

Suddenly, Mary Margaret leapt to her feet. "But we do have something from the Enchanted Forest for you." She crossed the room to the chest at the end of her and David's bed, which was separated from the room only by a thin, gauzy curtain. The first time Emma had seen that, she'd wondered why in the world they didn't just sleep in the upstairs loft. The last thing she wanted was to accidentally catch a glimpse of them…getting intimate.

"We found this the other morning, just in the window at Gold's shop." David explained as Mary Margaret rifled around in the chest. "We couldn't believe it managed to make its way here."

"Most everything was destroyed," Mary Margaret said as she approached the couch again, a small box in hand. "But not this."

She handed Emma the box, who opened it to find a beautiful glass unicorn mobile nestled in a bed of velvet cloth. Emma picked it up and held it against the light.

"This was a gift from Cinderella." Mary Margaret explained. "Or Ashley, as you might know her. She sent this to us before you were born."

"We were going to hang this above your crib." David said sadly.

"It's really pretty," Emma breathed. She twirled it around, admiring the way it caught the light. As a baby, even in in her very first foster home, nobody had ever taken such care to decorate her room with something so beautiful. (Not that she would ever mention this to them; they already felt guilty enough). The thoughtfulness made her chest feel tight, and for a brief moment she completely forgot about the purple walls and rows of stuffed animals Regina had painstakingly arranged for her room back when she first arrived in Storybrooke.

"I used to see this in the window as I walked by the pawnshop, wondering who had given away such a beautiful object," said Mary Margaret. She reached up and traced finger along one of the unicorns, looking at it with reverence. "I like to think it was a sign that you were meant to make your way back to us all along."

"We had such big plans for you." David said. "I was going to teach you to wield your first sword, your mother to shoot an arrow. You would've had an entire castle's worth of people wrapped around your finger."

"But all of that was taken away," Mary Margaret said sadly. She reached up to wipe away a tear. "Giving you up before the curse was the hardest thing we've ever had to do."

She and David continued to stare at the mobile in Emma's hand, completely transfixed. They didn't notice Emma's flat expression as their eyes stared up, lost into memories only they could recall.

Yes, it was really a very beautifully crafted unicorn mobile that she was sure her baby self would've spent hours staring at. Emma could easily imagine the grandeur of the nursery they had meant for her, with extravagant dollhouses, dresses to play pretend in, or more stuffed animals than she could count. And later, a large canopy bed she would've had trouble getting out of every morning.

But it was just an object.

And she already had a beloved childhood bedroom with more toys than any child ever needed.

"Your first ball, weekends spent on expeditions to faraway lands. You were meant for so much." David continued on. "So much greatness, so much potential."

At the word potential, a hot coin curdled in her stomach, and she lowered the mobile back into the box. "Why don't you keep it?"

"Oh no, sweetheart." Mary Margaret protested. "It's yours. It was always meant to be yours."

"But I'm not a baby anymore." Emma responded. "I don't need this. And I can see that this means a lot to you."

"Well…"

"Really." Emma insisted. She snapped the box's lid closed and pressed it into Mary Margaret's hand. "Keep it."

She could tell by the stunned expression in her birth parents' eyes that she'd perhaps gone too far. But what else could she have done? Gushed over what was, at the end of the day, a baby decoration? Insisted on hanging it above the bed in the loft that wasn't quite hers?

The air in the room felt too hot. Emma found herself standing up. "I'm…going to go on a walk, if that's okay. I was kinda craving…" She paused. Damn; if Granny's wasn't closed, she could've said she wanted a milkshake. "Um, chocolate. Gonna run to the store."

"Oh, we can drive you!" David said. He immediately reached for his jacket. "Let me just find my keys…"

"No!" Emma said, more forcefully than she'd intended. "I-I mean, the exercise will do me some good. And the store's only like 5 minutes away. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Mary Margaret said uncertainly. "By yourself?"

"I've been walking around by myself for years now." Emma said. "Biking to school and stuff."

"Oh." David looked disappointed. "Well, do you need any money?"

Mary Margaret reached for her purse and pulled out a few ten dollar bills. "Here, take it!"

"No it's fine. I'm good." Emma argued. "I'll be back soon, kay?" Without waiting for a response, she closed the apartment door behind her. But she didn't move for a moment, instead pressing her ear against the wood, straining to pick up anything they were probably saying.

"Maybe we're overdoing it." David said wearily. Emma heard him begin to pace around the room. "She's a bit overwhelmed."

"Well excuse me for trying to bond with my daughter!" Mary Margaret argued.

"I know. But—"

"As you already know, she already had a mother growing up. It's different for you, you don't feel like the poor substitute, the second choice."

"But you…I mean we…need to give her time." David said. "She's a teenager, after all."

"A teenager we never got to raise."

And that enough. Emma scrambled away from the door and down the stairs. Outside, she breathed in deeply, feeling as though she'd been trapped for ages. She already felt lighter.

As soon as she was a few blocks away from the apartment building, she started to dial Regina's number, and then hung up before the call could go through. She was supposed to be bonding with her birth parents, as Regina had intended. And besides, her mother was probably busy.


The pharmacy was pretty empty, although it was a Monday afternoon. Emma had stuffed her hair into her sweatshirt's giant hood on the way there, and she kept her head down as she approached the counter, five different kinds of candy bars in hand.

Mr. Clark, who was apparently also Sneezy, took the candy bars, barely giving her a second glance as he did so. "That'll be $5.87." He said, completely bored. He sneezed.

Emma reached into her pocket for a few crumpled bills. "Hang on, I think I have quarters."

"Wait…" He looked up at her and eyed her face closely beneath her hood. "Oh! Emma! I-I mean…Your Majesty!" He sneezed. "Sorry." He sneezed again. "So sorry."

Emma took a few steps back. "Um, that's okay." She pushed the cash onto the counter.

Sneezy bent his waist in what was a very poor attempt to bow. His nose nearly hit the counter as he sneezed violently, spittle and snot hitting the glass beneath him.

"You really don't need to do that," she said uncertainly. Someone entered the store, and she looked over her shoulder. Great. More attention. "Can I just take my candy?"

"Yes, of course Princess!" He all but shouted. "Is there anything else you need? A soda? Chips?"

"N-no, no. I'm good." Emma stuffed the chocolate into her sweatshirt pocket and turned to leave.

Random passerbys, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, stared at her as she walked down the street. Her face burned beneath her hood. The grumpy old man who delivered their mail (whom Regina had yelled at on more than one occasion), her mean math teacher…everyone looked at her with unabashed admiration, some bowing as Sneezy had done.

"…saved everyone."

"…broke the curse."

"…raised by the Evil Queen…"

Emma began to walk faster and faster. Suddenly, being stuck with Mary Margaret and David didn't seem so bad.

"Princess Emma!" A little girl Emma recognized as one of her classmate's little sisters suddenly stepped into her path and threw her arms around Emma's legs. "When I grow up I want to be just like you."

Emma nearly recoiled in horror. "Um, thanks?"

She nearly made it back to the apartment before involuntarily emptying her stomach's meager contents behind a poor neighbor's rose bushes.

Author's note: Up next - more drama. Be prepared.