CHAPTER 23

David raised his hand to knock just as the door to his daughter's bedroom swung open. Emma and Regina were laughing about something and David simply stood there with a smile on his face waiting to be noticed. Emma ran her thumb across her bottom lip as she turned away from her girlfriend to step into the hallway, nearly running into her father. David was quick to reach out and stop her, causing Regina to collide into her from behind.

"Dad. Hey." Emma smiled and laughed nervously like a teenager who'd just been caught sneaking a girl out of her room. She was suddenly thankful he hadn't shown up five minutes earlier.

"Your mom sent me up." He gave her shoulder a squeeze before stepping out of the way so the two young women could join him in the hall. "Apparently lunch is just about done and she wanted to give you plenty of time to come down and get settled."

Emma glanced back at Regina and realized that she wasn't the only one fighting back an awkward laugh. "Yeah. Uhm…that sounds good. We were just about to go down to the car and grab our bags. Then we'll be right there."

"Don't keep your mom waiting, Em." David gave her a knowing smile. "You know how she feels about cooking a meal, you know you better be there waiting when it's done." Looking past Emma, David caught Regina's attention. "I'd ask my daughter, Regina, but she'll just tell me no. Are you both okay getting your things? I don't mind helping."

"Thank you, David." Regina smiled sincerely before subconsciously taking Emma's hand. "It's just a few things. I believe we can get it."

"Well, all right then. I'll leave you ladies to it."

The pair parted ways from Emma's father as they reached the bottom of a winding staircase that deposited them right at the front door. The minute Emma pulled the front door closed behind them Regina backhanded Emma on the arm and walked faster toward the car.

"Really?" Emma whined, grabbing her arm and rushing to catch up with her girlfriend. "Are you planning to break into the car? I have the keys, you know?"

"Then maybe you should unlock it." Regina whirled around, giving Emma a look that suggested she do just that. "Unless you'd like to have sex on the hood of your car. In your parent's driveway. In broad daylight."

Emma immediately got a faraway look in her eyes as if she were considering the possibility before looking at the brunette standing with her hands on her hips, waiting for a response. Emma stepped into Regina's personal space, forcing her to back into the driver's side of the car. "I like the way you think!"

"Emma!" Regina laughed, unable to stop the smile creeping onto her face.

"I didn't hear a single complaint ten minutes ago when I was on my nffs mm zhe phr b-" The rest of the sentence was muffled and cut off when Regina's hand flew up to Emma's mouth and quickly stopped her from finishing what she knew the blonde was about to say. As soon as she moved her hand, Emma's mouth opened as if she were going to continue talking and Regina leaned in to kiss her. "Okay, okay… You win. No sex on the hood of the car."

"Yet." Regina quirked an eyebrow suggestively and turned to finish the task they'd come outside to complete, leaving Emma with her mouth hanging open and considering the implications of that one three letter word.

"Ladies." David's voice floated across the expanse of the driveway and both women turned to see Emma's father approaching the car.

"Dad, really, we can get everything. It's just a couple of bags."

"Well, you know your mother, Emma." David laughed to his self. "The minute I came back to the kitchen empty handed and she found out I let you come out here to fend for yourself, I received marching orders."

Emma nodded knowingly and Regina just smiled at the easy dynamic between the two. They didn't know it yet, but if Regina had anything to do with it, Emma's parents were going to start seeing more of their daughter than just on pertinent holidays. Her newfound family issues weren't going to stop her from helping Emma's parents to regain a semi normal relationship with their daughter. Especially with Emma's shift in duties at work. They were both going to be finding their selves with a little bit more free time in the near future.

"Since you're here, I suppose we can't let you return empty handed." Regina smiled, leaning into the backend of the car and coming back out with two homemade desserts. One a delicious looking cherry cheesecake and the other a simple chocolate pie, which Regina had discovered, when deciding what they were going to bring, to be one of Emma's favorites. "You can take these. We only have a couple of bags. I think we can handle those."

Emma stood to the side, hands in her back pockets, watching the exchange between her father and her girlfriend. The ease with which they were interacting had slightly thrown Emma off. But deep down, she was smiling at the prospect of just how well their two days were going to go. "Uh, yeah, Dad. We'll grab our bags and be right there. I won't make the mistake of making mom wait. Ever again."

David laughed knowingly and turned to head back towards the house. Emma turned back to the vehicle and began pulling out bags. Starting with her backpack which she had tossed over her shoulders like a high-schooler before grabbing the rest of their bags, save Regina's pillow which, considering Emma's full and struggling hands, just wasn't going to happen. "Emma. You do realize I have two hands?"

Emma smirked but bit back the suggestive comments that came to mind. The look on Regina's face told her that she knew Emma was probably biting back some kind of 'That's what she said' joke. But instead, Emma just smiled politely and said, "I got this. No worries. You…get the trunk shut and locked and then the front door and we'll be good."

. . .

With their few things deposited quickly in the bedroom, the two women were walking into the dining room as Emma's mother was sitting the last dish on the table. Emma was suddenly nervous as hell and had no idea how their lunch was about to go. But knowing her parents, Regina was about to be subject to some sort of inquisition. And true to Mary Margret fashion, they had no longer began lifting utensils to their mouths when Emma's mother spoke up and started firing her not quite too subtle questions.

"So, Regina." She smiled brightly, as if it would soften the blow and keep Emma from cringing. "Since my daughter saw fit to keep you a secret, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

Regina didn't miss a beat and flashed a genuine smile. So this is what it's like to have a mother that cares? "What would you like to know? I'd be happy to answer any questions you have."

Emma reached for her girlfriend's leg under the table and gave a gentle squeeze. Clearly Regina wasn't concerned about the impending interrogation. Then again, if Emma was truthful, neither was she. Her parents were going to love Regina. She was, after all, a very well rounded adult, entirely capable of taking care of herself and maybe once they both saw how happy Emma was, they would simply let the whole thing go and just enjoy their short visit.

"Well…" Mary Margret gave the question some thought. Emma glanced at her father who continued to eat his lunch, content to sit back and see where things went. For some reason, Emma had a feeling David would find a way to speak to Regina privately. Fortunately Emma wasn't as concerned with her father's potential "What are your intentions with my daughter?" line of questioning.

"What do you do for a living?"

Right out the gate. Regina thought to herself. "I actually don't have a conventional job per say. I'm actually an artist. I…paint."

"Oh. That's nice." Mary Margret smiled as if she didn't understand how that could possibly be considered a job. But before she could say anything else, Emma butted into the conversation.

"Regina's actually quite an accomplished artist, mom." Emma took a bite of her salad and before she could finish chewing, continued to talk, much to Regina's amusement, but not so much to her mothers. The look on Mary Margret's face said as much. "Actually, about two months ago, right before my accident, Ruby brought Regina into the gallery and held a show to introduce her work into the art world."

"Oh that's nice." Mary Margret repeated. She seemed as if she was about to say something else when the realization of what Emma had said, hit her. She sat her fork down and dabbed at her mouth with the linen napkin that had been lying in her lap. When the silence continued, Emma looked up to find her mother staring at her in shock, her father paused as if he'd been frozen with a forkful of food halfway to his mouth. Confused, Emma looked over at her girlfriend only to find Regina worrying the charm hanging around her neck. Regina was clearly avoiding looking at all of them.

"What?" Emma sat back and tossed her napkin onto the table. Regina glanced at Emma, clearly surprised that she had no idea she'd just told her parents she'd been in an accident. "What did I say now?"

"Right before your 'accident'?" Mary Margret shook her head. "I'm sorry. I could have sworn I just heard you say you had an accident and then continued to speak as if your father or I wouldn't notice or care. Exactly what kind of 'accident' did you have?"

David sat his fork down, waiting to see where this was going. Always the rational of the two, he could clearly see that his daughter was alive and in one piece so he knew that whatever had happened, couldn't possibly have been all that bad. He watched all three women, waiting for someone to say something. Finally realizing that Emma's stubborn side had kicked in full force, Regina squeezed her hand under the table while still playing with the necklace lying against her chest.

"Emma was on her motorcycle on the way to Neal's house and a car pulled out in front of her and stopped." Regina's tone was subdued, remembering clearly the aftermath of the incident. She looked up to meet Mary Margret's gaze and continued. "She went over the car and landed on another. I wasn't there, but Neal said it wasn't quite as bad as it sounds."

Emma glanced at her girlfriend, knowing that she had just outright lied to her mother and something about the tiny little lie made Emma smile to herself. Regina was sparing Mary Margret from the gory details because it was all said and done and Emma was alive and fine.

"Not as bad as it sounds?" Mary Margret was clearly upset but if Regina was completely honest with herself the woman was beginning to sound like a parrot. "My daughter, per your words, flew off of a motorcycle, over another vehicle and landed on a completely different vehicle. By my standards…a mother's standards, forgive me for saying so but that doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me. Emma?"

Emma's eyes were immediately on Regina. She'd felt her girlfriend squeeze her hand when Mary Margret had made the mother comment. Regina nonchalantly placed her napkin on the table next to her near empty plate and pushed her chair back away from the table. Her eyes remained averted, refusing to look even at the blonde by her side. She was suddenly feeling sick and a little bit out of place. She knew that Emma's mother was only concerned for her daughter's safety, but the rational part of her brain was refusing to function at the moment. "If you'll excuse me for a moment."

Emma watched helplessly as Regina stepped away from the table and walked out of the room. The minute she was out of sight, Emma was out of her own chair and leaning across the table.

"Seriously?" Emma looked at her mother like she had two heads. "I'm right here mom. I'm in one whole piece! You couldn't just ask me what happened?"

Emma threw her napkin onto her plate and moved to step away from the table. David was out of his chair just as fast. "Emma?"

"What, dad? What?"

"If I may… I'd like to go speak with Regina. If that's okay with you?" David knew that if he left the room it would force Emma to deal with her mother who for some reason she hadn't always quite seen eye to eye with. And if he went to find Regina, it might give him the opportunity to find out exactly what had upset the young woman. He decided before she could respond, not to give her a choice and walked out of the room in search of the brunette.

Emma looked back at her mother and without saying a word she gathered her plate along with Regina's and both of their glasses, carrying them to the kitchen. She stood over the sink rinsing the dishes off and shoving them none too gently into the dishwasher. As she turned to place the last glass on the rack, Emma's mother grabbed her hand and took the glass. She placed it in the dishwasher and closed the door, leaving her own handful of dishes on the counter to deal with later. Mary Margret turned around and leaned back against the cabinets and looked over at her daughter who was staring out the window above the sink. She didn't know if Emma was simply ignoring her or if there was something in particular that had caught her interest in the back yard.

"I'm sorry, Emma. Truly I am." She shook her head and sighed. "You're my only child and the idea of losing you or seeing you hurt again, for any reason, it scares me."

Emma remained silent. Her eyes on Regina who she had seen walking out towards the old tree swing in the far corner of the yard. It didn't take long for David to find her girlfriend. The house was big, but the grounds were not and there were only so many places she could have gone. She watched as her father approached the brunette and took a seat at the base of the tree just a few feet away from her.

"Emma, please say something." Emma's mother was pleading with her. She knew Mary Margret felt bad about what had transpired. But what Emma was more upset about was the fact that her mother had no idea why or how she had upset her girlfriend.

"That woman out there…" Emma paused, exhaling heavily. "For three years mom, ever since Amanda I've just been…lost. And Regina came into my life and suddenly…I feel alive again. And happy. She makes me see a future that I thought was gone forever. She wants everything with me. She was there for me when I had my accident, even though I had lied to her and kept things from her and pushed her away. Granted, I did all of that because of my job. But she just came back anyway and refused to leave."

Mary Margret stood silently next to her daughter, listening intently. She was afraid that if she said anything that Emma would clam up and the moment would be lost.

"There's so much you don't know. And it all has to do with my job. But she loves me, mom." Emma's voice cracked and her mother could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. "And then I almost lost her again and we've been through so much but she still keeps fighting for me and I have no idea why. She has been through so much. She lost her parents. Then found out they'd been alive all this time and there's just so much you don't know. But I look at her and I- her eyes, mom. I just…she's mine and she's always been mine. It just took me far too long to find her."

Mary Margret swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

"Emma. Can I…ask you a question?"

. . .

When he walked out of the dining room, David had heard the front door open and close. Assuming Regina was going out for air he followed behind but didn't get in a hurry. David was a smart enough man. He knew if a woman walked out of a room it was because she was searching for space. But in this particular case, he felt as if there might be room for conversation, as long as he approached her right. There weren't very many places on the property for her to go, so David took a walk around the house, rounding the corner in time to see Regina taking a seat on Emma's childhood swing. There was no rush, so he gave her a moment, simply observing her body language to make sure it would be okay for him to reach out to his daughter's girlfriend. Deciding that any reaction would be worth the chat, David walked up beside the brunette and took a seat on the ground, leaning back against the large tree the swing had been hanging from since Emma was only five. He stretched his legs out, crossing them at his ankles and waited until she was ready. Fortunately, with Regina, talking was one of the few things she rarely held back on.

"I guess it wasn't very hard to find me, huh?" Regina was looking down at her feet, her hands gripping the ropes holding the seat she was sitting on.

"Were you trying to hide?" David smiled and Regina looked up in time to see him clasp his hands in his lap ever so patiently.

"No." Regina conceded. "I just…needed some air."

"Believe it or not, I can understand that. I hung this swing when Emma was a little girl and even though I'm not here as much as I'd like to be, sometimes I just like to come out here and sit. It makes me feel closer to her." David had a sad smile on his face and Regina knew for sure that she would make an effort to encourage Emma to spend more time with her parents. "She's been through so much."

"Is this the part where you give me the 'What are your intentions with my daughter?' speech?" Regina smiled down at the man, a nervous laugh escaping her lips. "If it is, I'll just tell you now; Emma is stubborn as hell, but there's something about her that fills this- this void that I didn't even know was missing until she came into my life. She pursued me, but then held back at every twist and turn until I was the one pursuing her. We've hit a lot of bumps in the few months that we've known each other but…from the moment we met, I just knew we were connected somehow and no matter what, nothing would come between us."

David nodded in understanding as he listened to this woman speaking so highly of his daughter. It was very clear that she cared for Emma and oddly enough, David had no doubts that his daughter's heart was safe.

"When Emma loves, she loves hard." David told her though he had a feeling that the information was nothing new to the brunette. "So…what are your intentions with my daughter?"

Regina laughed then, a hearty laugh that warmed David's soul. This woman was special and he hoped beyond hoping that this time everything would work out and he would see his daughter happy for good.

"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about, I'm sure. Things that probably only Emma should tell you about. But for several reasons she put her house up for sale and is living with me until we find a place of our own. As far as we can tell, there are a couple of interested buyers so we're hopeful the house will sell in the next couple of weeks." Regina turned the swing so that she could face the man sitting on the ground next to her. "We haven't actively been looking but we came to a mutual agreement that we would wait until the house sold. I promise all I want is to see her happy. To be happy with her and be the one who always makes her smile. Emma deserves nothing less than…everything."

David took it all in and processed the thought with ease. "Can you tell me about the accident?"

Regina felt a little hesitant, but she knew that if she had a child, she would want to know what her child had been through. David and Mary Margret may not have been perfect parents, but if ever such a thing existed, Regina had yet to witness it. "It really was pretty cut and dry. We don't know who caused it. Only that someone intentionally pulled out and stopped in front of her. Her motorcycle is demolished."

David cringed. "She was pretty attached to that thing. I'm guessing she didn't take the news well?"

"Not so much, no." Regina laughed, looking down at the ground once again. "I was thinking of getting her a new one. I know she won't be able to ride again until it warms up, but at least it will be there waiting for her when the weather is right. Neal offered to pick it up and keep it until Christmas."

"That's awfully thoughtful, Regina." David stood, dusting his pants off before offering an arm to the woman he was quickly starting to like. "I'm sure it will be a gift well received."

Regina stood and took the offered arm as they began a slow walk back towards the house.

"I apologize for leaving the table so abruptly. There have been some recent revelations with my own parents and the whole thing just kind of hit me hard."

"Think nothing of it, Regina." David patted her hand gently before giving it a reassuring squeeze.

. . .

Emma turned away from the window and waited expectantly for what her mother was about to say. And knowing her mother, there was no telling what was about to come out of her mouth. "Yeah. Sure."

"I noticed Regina was wearing a uh, a necklace."

"Observant." Emma smarted off to her mother before she could stop herself. When she saw the hurt look cross the woman's face, she quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, mom. What about the necklace?"

"It's very nice. Where did she get it?"

"I don't know." Emma shrugged. "She said she got it a long time ago. The first time I saw it, it was hanging in her bedroom window, catching the sun. She only wore it today because I told her it would complement her outfit."

"So you've never seen it before?" Mary Margret seemed uneasy and Emma could feel the tension rolling off her mother in waves.

"When I first saw it, I told Regina it seemed familiar, but no." Emma shrugged. "It's just a necklace mom, what's the big deal?"

Mary Margret swallowed the thick lump in her throat and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Mom?" Emma was growing frustrated.

"Emma…that necklace is one of a kind." Emma's mother told her. Emma was thoroughly confused. How in the hell would her mother know anything about some random necklace her girlfriend owned? "I know, because your father and I had that necklace made for you for your sixth birthday. We told you it was 'Wish Dust' and that no matter where you were, as long as you had that 'Wish Dust', you could always do anything you wanted to, as long as you wished hard enough. One day when you were 13, Nan had brought you to the hospital to have dinner with your father and I. Until that day, I'd never seen you without that necklace."

Emma was suddenly feeling nauseas. Was her mom really saying what she thought she was saying? Emma had told Regina that day at the house that she'd had something similar when she was a kid. Was it really possible?

"Emma." Mary Margret took one of Emma's hands in her own. "When I asked you where it was, you cried and told me you'd lost it. Did you…did you really lose it?"

"Mom, I-" Emma shook her head. How could she have forgotten something that in this moment seemed so extremely important? "I didn't lose it. I- we were walking past a waiting room and there was a girl about my age and I remember now…Why didn't I remember this until now?"

Mary Margret's eyes were overflowing with tears.

"I remember she was sitting in a corner alone and there were these men standing on the other side of the room. And Nan was talking to you and I wondered off. I remember taking the necklace off and giving it to the girl. I told her exactly what you told me. That I didn't know why she was upset but that the 'Wish Dust' would make it all better."

Emma and Mary Margret both turned when they heard a gasp from the doorway. Regina was standing there with Emma's father. One arm still tucked in his as if they'd simply been out for a stroll. Emma, without thinking, stepped away from her mother making a beeline for her girlfriend. Regina did the same, pulling away from David to meet the blonde halfway. They stopped with mere inches between them. Emma reached up, taking the small charm in her hand inspecting it before looking up to meet Regina's eyes with her own. "Regina?"

"I had no idea, Emma." Regina's voice cracked and her eyes were full of tears. "It was you. All this time, I've been holding on to you?"

Suddenly not caring that both her parents were watching, Emma took Regina's face between her hands and kissed her as if they were alone. As if Regina could slip away at any given moment. Emma knew the universe worked in mysterious ways, but of all the crazy things that had happened in her life, finding out she really had met the woman in her arms before, was definitely number one on the list.