That Holiday Magic
Chapter 2
The workweek started again on the second of December with nothing but gray clouds overhead and the promise of light showers if not the expected winter rain. Three days had passed since Thanksgiving dinner and Emma still hadn't come to Regina's house to pick up Henry.
Despite sending at least three texts a day, Regina had been unsuccessful in reaching Emma. When Sunday night rolled around, Regina assumed she'd have to take Henry to school the next day and her assumptions were right. In that moment, she disliked being right.
Since Regina had been re-elected as Mayor, a fact she used to love but suddenly resented when Emma's questionable mood was involved, she had to get to work. She had given Emma her space over the weekend. Three days seemed like enough time for the blonde to process her feelings so even though she wanted to track down the elusive Emma Swan, she dejectedly drove from Henry's school to City Hall.
She sat through her first appointment of the day a little distracted thanks to Henry's fowl mood after Emma's upsetting exit at Thanksgiving dinner then sighed when she started to review paperwork. With a pen in hand and a few papers scattered in a somewhat organized manner in front of her, Regina couldn't help but envision the low hanging cloud that had followed Henry around all weekend.
Saturday night, when Regina decided to go ahead and make dinner for the both of them after another day of zero responses from the blonde, Henry realized Emma probably wasn't coming back for him. That moment of realization broke Regina's heart, especially after Peter Pan had convinced him that no one was coming for him in Neverland.
That train of thought made Regina remember what Henry had confessed to her during her first month with him back in Storybrooke. He'd had another nightmare, a frequent occurrence since the return from Neverland, and – when asked about it – Henry told her it was about him being left alone on the island. Another frequent occurrence. Regina had dug deeper and asked why he kept dreaming about being left behind. She never forgot his response: "Because she left me once before."
Suddenly, everything made sense.
Regina knew in that very moment that Henry only believed Pan when the monstrous boy said his family wasn't coming to save him because Emma had already given him up. It had been eleven years ago and last year he didn't seem too upset by it. At least that was how it appeared when he wanted to spend every day with her instead of Regina, the mother who had changed every diaper, soothed every fever, and endured every tantrum.
And yet, there Regina sat. Paperwork forgotten as she understood that Henry, once again, felt abandoned by his birth mother.
Regina threw her pen down on top of the paperwork, thoroughly frustrated. She sighed in an attempt to release some of the tension associated with said frustration, but it was useless. She needed to talk to Emma. She needed to know what Emma had been thinking at the dinner, maybe even still thought three days later.
Some eighteenth birthday.
Emma had absolutely no one. She grabbed her slightly worn leather bag of clothes and the bare minimum of basic need supplies and took off.
Legally an adult as of last week and no longer a ward of the state, Emma had nowhere to go. The only reason she hadn't been tossed out of her most recent foster family's house sooner was only because she still had a purpose with them. She was still her foster father's punching bag.
In fact, she celebrated her eighteenth birthday wishing on every damn star that had yet to appear in the Portland, Oregon sky that she wouldn't end up in the hospital when he finished. It seemed her wish had been granted, which was the only reason she still believed in their possibly ten years later when she'd eventually find herself in Boston.
But for the time being, she'd managed to suffer one of the less aggressive attacks of a man who frequently abused her just to make himself feel better. She came away with a black eye, swollen and split bottom lip, and several bruises on her stomach. Her face healed in record time and within four days after the beating, she'd been able to wear makeup again without the sting of covering up the battery.
Unfortunately, the bruises on her stomach refused to fade as easily. They had only just started to yellow in the healing process when she grabbed her things and fled that day.
In search of a more sufficient escape, Emma scoured the streets for a quick getaway. She'd stolen a slim-Jim from the trunk of her foster father's car just before she left. She'd slipped it up the left sleeve of her black leather jacket to conceal it and spent hours wandering through alleyways.
Late in the overcast day, she found a vintage, yellow Volkswagen Beetle in the middle of an alley filled with graffiti covered buildings and telephone poles, broken and wet crates, and an outdated, orange-brown chair torn in half.
She wore her curled blonde hair in a ponytail and approached the car with her black messenger bag slung over her shoulder in a red, white, and black plaid dress. Her legs were covered in black tights and her feet were kept warm with black boots that came up to mid-calve.
The closer she got to the car, the more she nervously looked around. Even as she dangled keys to make it seem as though the car was actually hers, she feared the worst. She expected to get caught. She paused at the car door and continued to check every direction for any sign of trouble, all the while discretely pulling the slim-Jim out of the sleeve of her jacket.
She slid the tool into the slit between the driver's side window and the car door. She jimmied the door lock within seconds and jostled out the slim-Jim. In one fluid movement, she opened the door and slid into the Beetle. Just as fluidly, she shut the door behind herself and reached into her bag to retrieve a screwdriver and a rock. She forcefully inserted the screwdriver into the ignition then pounded the butt of the tool with the rock. After a few hits, she jiggled the screwdriver a bit before she turned it until the car started.
Emma proudly smiled to herself, a little impressed that she'd managed to pull off such a feat and in such a small amount of time.
She shifted the car in gear and drove out of the alley. When she made it out onto a side street, a man popped up in the backseat.
"Impressive."
Emma visibly jumped and even emitted a yelp at the sound of the stranger's voice.
"But you could've just asked me for the keys," the man continued to say and smirked as he looked at her with the keys dangling at eye level.
Emma looked back and forth between him and the road in complete shock. With wide eyes and a tense body, she panicked and speechlessly squirmed in her seat.
After half a mile, the man pushed back his hood and revealed a mussed, full head of dark brown hair. Seconds later, he spoke again when he noticed Emma hadn't relaxed.
"Just drive. It's fine," he calmly assured her.
"I just stole your car. Your life could be in danger," Emma replied, a little breathless even as she tried to sound strong.
The man grinned and chuckled under his breath at Emma's response.
"Neal Cassidy," he introduced himself and held up a hand as if he were answering a question, which Emma clearly hadn't asked him.
"Yeah, I'm not telling you my name," Emma quickly said.
"Yeah, I don't need it to have you arrested when the robbery's in progress," he laughed, completely comfortable in their situation.
Emma rolled her eyes, unamused, but withheld a sigh as she recognized defeat.
"Emma," she softly, but not timidly, said. "Swan."
"Good name," Neal said as he kept close to the driver's seat.
Emma rolled her eyes again. Twice within a minute. And she just met the guy. Neal Cassidy must have been going for a record because Emma hadn't known anyone to get on her nerves as quickly and as often as he already had.
"So...do you...just live in here or...are you waiting for the car to be stolen," Emma asked and let go of the wheel with one hand to carelessly wave her arm as she slowly spoke.
"Why don't I tell you over drinks," he flirted.
"Excuse me?"
Emma looked over her shoulder and glared at him.
"Hey, eyes on the road," he talked over her and pointed at the road just as she drove past a stop sign.
A car honked, but she kept going. She glared at him for a second more then decided to turn back and stared ahead, once again focused on driving instead of Neal.
Emma licked her lips and blinked a few times before she answered his earlier question.
"I am not having drinks with you. You might be a pervert."
"I might be a pervert, but you're definitely a car thief."
"I said I was sorry," Emma insisted.
"You didn't, actually."
Emma dropped her jaw and silently scoffed at the accusation as she looked at him through the rear view mirror. Her accusatory look turned into an eye roll as she realized she in fact had not apologized.
Before she could say anything, though, sirens blared in short, warning bursts less than a mile behind the car.
Neal hung his head and rubbed his hand back and forth through his hair while Emma gaped at the sight of the approaching cop car.
"Damn it," Emma nervously cursed as she chanced a look over her shoulder at the cop car every few seconds when she wasn't focused on the road ahead.
Neal groaned.
"That's why I said, 'eyes on the road,'" he spoke into the long sleeve of his shirt with his forehead pressed to his forearm.
Emma pulled over and parked at the curb in front of a brick building that had large Chinese symbols painted in white near the rooftop.
She'd been on the streets, finally out of the foster system and in charge of her own shitty life, for less than six minutes and already she'd managed to get herself in trouble with the cops.
Oh, the foreshadowing.
"Screwdriver," Neal said as he pushed his way between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat.
Emma barred her teeth with a clenched jaw, her face contorted to show her worry, and she quickly handed Neal the screwdriver.
At the same time, Neal leaned over the center console and jammed the car keys into the ignition in place of the screwdriver he quickly pocketed then tried to look casual in the backseat as the cop came up to Emma's window.
"License and registration," the cop asked in a deep, no-nonsense tone of voice.
"Hi," Emma sweetly greeted with a large smile as she rested her left forearm on the door, her window rolled down for the cop.
Neal immediately jumped between the front seats of the car and addressed the cop, his face entirely too close to Emma's person. He cut Emma off before she could incriminate them.
"I'm sorry, Officer, this is actually my car."
Emma showed her disapproval of Neal's proximity, but masked it when she looked at the cop again.
"I'm trying to, uh, uh," Neal struggled to lie on the spot. "Teach my girlfriend how to drive stick."
Emma raised both her eyebrows as she tried not to laugh at how ridiculous that sounded to her, only slightly amused with his lie.
"She's got a lot to learn," the officer responded as he looked from Neal back to the stop sign Emma had passed then back to Neal.
"I know," Neal said as if he were actually the boyfriend troubled with teaching his stubborn girlfriend how to drive stick, as he'd said he was. "But, you know. Women."
Neal scrunched up his face to convey his one word excuse for her poor driving was an obvious fact.
Emma stared at him with a little bit of anger, unappreciative of the man speaking of her – as well as the entire female population – in such a demeaning way.
After several long, drawn out seconds of silence, the straight-faced officer bought into the lie.
"Alright, I hear you," he said with a thumb tucked into his belt and another hand holding a clipboard. "It's a warning. This time."
"Yeah," Neal nodded before the officer started to walk away. "Thank you so much."
The officer had just reached his squad car when Neal quickly pushed the passenger's seat forward, opened the door, and maneuvered himself out of the backseat and into the passenger's seat.
As he did so, Emma asked, "What are you? Some sort of misogynist?"
"You're welcome. Now. Go. We got lucky," Neal said as he settled into the seat once the door was closed.
Emma frowned and thought about his phrasing.
"We?"
Neal looked at her before he dropped his gaze and looked guilty as hell.
Emma chewed on that look for a few more seconds before she pieced the puzzle together.
"This isn't your car either, is it?"
"Hm?"
Neal played dumb, but Emma saw right through it.
"I stole a stolen car?"
Neal deviously grinned at her, pleased to see she'd done well.
"Now how 'bout that drink," he asked.
Emma looked him over and saucily smirked before she turned the keys and started the car with a playful scoff. She faced forward and continued to smirk even as she drove away.
For the first time, she allowed someone to finally pay for her instead of them getting paid to "take care" of her. Like anyone took care of her. She was a tax write off, a free paycheck to people that lied when they told social workers Emma Swan was in good hands. The more she bounced around from the orphanage to several misfitted foster families, the more she felt the loss of her parents. Parents that she'd learned early in life had left her on the side of some highway.
So as the aloof Neal Cassidy handed her the bottle of whiskey she'd helped him steal from a local liquor store, she thought about how her own parents didn't even want her. With that in mind, it made sense no one else had wanted her. Once she was ten, she started to think there was something wrong with her, something that made her undesirable in every way.
But there she was, in a car stolen twice over, with a reckless and street smart guy she'd met only ten minutes prior. She hardly knew Neal, but he'd actually asked her questions about her life. With each answer, though they weren't too detailed, he seemed genuinely interested. Once both had started to feel buzzed, they quickly swapped stories about their home life.
Emma only said, "My parents didn't want me so I've been handed off to every single lowlife since I was three after my first and only family threw me away."
Neal only went so far as to explain, "My dad turned into this man, this coward, that I didn't recognize. I thought he could change, but he abandoned me when I was fourteen."
Over the next few weeks, they'd grown closer with each heist. They stole food and other things they needed to get by on and along the way, they shared a few more stories. When they'd reached a month together, things got a little more intimate.
"Come on, Em. Let me have the backseat tonight. My back is killin' me from lounging in the passenger's seat," Neal begged.
"I'm supposed to have the backseat until tomorrow night. That's the arrangement you agreed to."
"I know," Neal started, exasperated. "But...I'm dyin' here. I've been chivalrous enough."
Emma just stared at him.
"I promise I won't try anything," he raised his hands defensively.
Emma sighed after a moment and slid over to give him room.
"Thank you," Neal smiled as he climbed over the center console and joined her in the backseat.
"Yeah, yeah," Emma dismissively said as she made herself comfortable in her new spot.
"So...got anything you want to talk about tonight," he asked as he tipped his back and stared at the starry night sky through the back window.
Emma furrowed her brow when she saw him extend his neck in a way that looked uncomfortable to her. She leaned back in the seat and followed his example then saw what he saw. Hundreds of stars twinkled in the dark sky above them and she smiled at the sight.
Neal turned his head to see Emma's reaction. He smiled when he noticed the stars caused her to light up like the bright and warming sun.
"Emma," he asked, still smiling, and pulled her attention away from the stars.
Emma turned her head to look at him and her smile faded.
Neal's expression faltered to match Emma's. If she was in pain, he was there to shoulder it and empathize with the young girl.
A minute ticked by before Emma took a deep breath and opened up to him. She told him about her second family, a family she thought she might actually get to be a part of. The Johnsons.
She explained that for the second time in her life, she felt worthless.
"I found out I had a family until I was three," Emma confessed. "But I was three. I don't remember that. I mean, there's bits and pieces scattered around in my head. But I never had the chance to really make a home, I guess.
"Anyway, it still hurts. To know that I'd had a family, not just birth parents that gave me up, and even that family didn't want me."
Completely sober, Emma told her story then gave Neal a chance to tell more stories about his time on the street. They had delved deeper into their pasts and after Emma's heartbroken confession about belittling her self-worth, they shared their first kiss.
Neal had been a perfect gentlemen. It was chaste, though Emma pushed for a stronger connection. Instead, he broke the kiss and decided to hold her while they snuggled in the backseat. In the most innocent way, Emma and Neal slept together that night. His arms wrapped her, Emma laid on top of the guy she'd met that fateful day a month earlier with her head pressed against his chest.
As she'd told Neal, not for the first time, she had constantly been thrown away like trash. She'd felt unwanted for so long. Then, Neal had kissed her and, once the initial shock wore off, she welcomed it. She suddenly had the guy who'd let her stay with him in the stolen car and had helped teach her how to survive the last four weeks show her with just one kiss that someone did want her. And it changed her. Until it crushed her.
Emma leisurely drove through the streets of Storybrooke with her right hand gripped tightly around the steering wheel. She clenched and unclenched her fist around the worn wheel while she pressed her left elbow into the top of the driver's side door and rested her head into her left hand. She drove without purpose and looked out at those that had decided to stand outside when she passed.
She saw a few couples enjoy a stroll through the park, giggling little kids with their parents, and the daily routines of the townspeople. Everything seemed fair and normal and quiet. Except the pace of her frantic and bleeding heart. And the darkness of her thoughts as she dredged up every past event that made her feel worthless and reminded her she'd been abandoned. Not just once, but multiple times.
She stopped at a four-way stop with no other cars around, but when she started to roll into the intersection, her car sputtered and jerked forward then halted. She almost suffered whiplash.
"No. No, no, no, no, no. Come. On!"
After a few cacophonous sounds growled out and shouted their protests – which did everything but reassure Emma her Bug would be okay – she puffed out an irritated sigh and put the beetle in park. She knew it would block traffic if anyone else had actually been out driving there that day.
Her car made a few more unpleasant sounds before she turned off the engine and got out to check under the hood. Smoke didn't billow out of it, which she took as a good sign, and poked around at several parts before she decided that if the problem was really under the hood, she'd need a mechanic. She shut the hood and went back to the driver's seat to check her gauges. Everything seemed fine and yet, everything was wrong.
She closed her eyes and sighed as she threw her head back against the headrest. She started to open her eyes when her phone suddenly vibrated in her coat pocket. Without complaint, Emma pulled out her phone to see she had one new message from Regina.
Emma rolled her eyes and looked at the text.
"We need to talk."
Emma stared at the four words with a stifled scoff that tickled the back of her throat, but never came. Instead, she typed out a response and pressed 'send'.
"You wanna talk, come get me."
Emma didn't get a reply for almost a minute. Without any other options, she just sat in the car and waited for Regina to text back.
"Where are you?"
"The all-way stop just before Granny's."
"On my way."
Emma furrowed her brow. Though she figured Regina would do everything short of murdering someone – which she wouldn't put past the former Evil Queen at that point – to yell at her for not coming to get Henry, she hadn't expected Regina's urgency.
She decided not to dwell on it seconds before her stomach growled and groaned at her need for food. She begrudgingly exited the yellow bug and sent another text to Regina as she left her car behind and started to walk down the street.
"Walking to the diner. Find me there."
Emma kept her phone in her hand on the way to Granny's, but slipped it back into her coat pocket before pushed open the door. The bell above the door clanged on her way inside and she scanned the room. There weren't too many people inside, but she froze when she saw Neal and Charming talking with Ruby at the counter. Her eyes slightly widened before her heart fell toward the pit of her stomach.
The three of them were laughing and seemingly getting along, though Emma expected nothing less between Charming and Ruby considering their history.
But Neal. That was something she hadn't expected. Her father and her ex-boyfriend slash baby daddy were smiling and laughing like Neal wasn't the jerk that let her go to jail for him because Pinocchio told him to.
After Neverland, Emma had lost a lot of the anger she harbored for the man, but Pan had picked at some of Emma's nastier scabs before they were all able to return to Storybrooke. Between her parents and Neal, she may not have been angry, but she did resent them. All three of them.
She walked toward one of the booths in the corner near the window and avoided crossing the diner to avoid attention. On her way to the booth, she chanced a few glances at Charming, Ruby, and Neal. None seemed to notice her, which she had wanted, but just before she slid into the booth she realized she resented them all, her parents and Neal, for the same reason. They all left her at some point.
Emma kept her head down and played with the sugar packets for the next few minutes. After she'd made a mess and reached boredom, she pulled out her phone and started to flick it around in her hand. She spun it in circles and let her fingers toy with the edges of the device until the bell clanged and she turned to see Regina walk in.
Regina's eyes fell to Ruby at the counter and Emma swore she saw the Mayor scrunch up her face in distaste. She appeared to like the sight of Charming, Neal, and Ruby looking as thick as thieves as much as Emma did.
It only took Regina a second before she looked to her right and saw Emma staring at her from the booth.
Emma faintly smiled at Regina and Emma wondered if it looked as nervous and as forced as it felt.
Regina kept a straight face, a displeased expression in place that told Emma she was in trouble, and made her way to the booth.
The sound of Regina's heels as they click-clacked against the tile floor never sounded so loud when the brunette approached. She gulped when she looked over Regina from her black, regal heels up to her frowning red lips and strangely felt like a kid stuck in the principal's office – which was the only place Emma spent in school when she actually showed up.
Regina cleared her throat and haughtily looked down at Emma as she slid into the opposite side of the booth across from the blonde. She sat there and let the silence stretch between them.
After a minute, Emma caved and started to speak.
"Okay, I'm sorry I didn't pick up Henry. I meant to, but...I just..." Emma trailed off before she started a new thought. "And I'm sorry I didn't answer any of your texts."
"Or my calls," Regina unhappily said.
"Right," Emma looked down at the table, slightly ashamed.
"Why did I have to come here to talk to you," Regina asked after a moment, her tone a little lighter.
"Because you agreed to come to me," Emma joked with a smile.
Her smile disappeared when Regina only stared at her with sharp and disapproving eyes.
Emma nervously cleared her throat and started again.
"My car stalled out. I need to take it to the shop."
"I'm surprised it's lasted this long."
"What can I say? It's reliable," Emma shrugged.
Regina sensed there was way more to that statement then Emma let on and her face fell to a more concerned and sympathetic expression.
"Do you need me to drive you somewhere?"
"The Sheriff's station?"
Regina noticed Emma's hesitance. It appeared the blonde didn't want to push and had even tensed in the chance that Regina might refuse her request.
"I can do that," Regina said before she stood.
Emma slid out of the booth seconds after her and stood face to face with Regina.
"Thanks."
"I wouldn't thank me yet. You owe me," Regina turned and headed toward the door.
"Understandable," Emma said and followed the other woman.
"Have you eaten yet," Regina asked as they exited the diner.
"No."
"I've got a granola bar in my car. You can help yourself to that."
"I don't do granola bars."
"Suit yourself."
Regina led Emma to her Mercedes parked on the curb outside Granny's and got in without sparing even so much as a glance back at the younger woman.
Emma eased herself into the passenger's seat of Regina's Benz and immediately twiddled her thumbs in her lap as the brunette drove them to the Sheriff's station. After the first two minutes, filled only with awkward silence, Emma remembered she hadn't called Michael yet. She pulled out her phone and called for a tow truck. She gave Michael the exact location of her car while Regina turned down the street that would take them straight to the station.
"Okay. Thanks," Emma said to Michael before she ended the call.
She looked at Regina who remained indifferent about the entire situation and considered the woman. She noticed the way Regina used only one hand to drive and hadn't once gripped the steering wheel hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Even though she seemed unattached to the task at hand, Regina almost looked calm and a little confident. It was like she was a friend lending a helping hand to the other when needed.
But she and Regina weren't friends. They had come a long way in Neverland, but Emma feared if she used that term – even in her head – it would ruin whatever it was they actually had. Emma wasn't sure what that was, but they at least got along by then. That was all she could have asked for since they had to think about Henry and she really didn't want to torture the kid by constantly fighting with his other mom.
"So what do I owe you," Emma asked as they pulled up outside the station.
Regina parked the car, sat back in her seat, and contemplated her answer.
"Dinner."
"What?"
Emma stared at Regina, genuinely thrown by her response.
"Come over tonight and have dinner with me."
"Are you...are you asking me out?"
"No, I'm asking you in."
"Same thing."
"It's just dinner."
"What about Henry?"
"I assume he'll be there since you won't take him with you. By the way, you not coming back for him really hurt him."
Emma winced.
"I'm really sorry."
"It's not me you need to apologize to. He's my son. I'm used to having to take care of him so it's no burden to have him for a few extra days. He's the one you hurt so he's the one you need to talk to."
"You're right. Okay, dinner?"
"Yes."
"What time?"
"Six."
"I'll be there."
"Good."
"Okay," Emma awkwardly said and turned to open the passenger door. "Oh, um..."
Emma turned back to Regina.
"I may need a ride to your place."
"Call me at 5 if your car is still in the shop."
"Sure," Emma said as she got out of the car then bent at the waist to look at Regina. "Uh, thanks again."
Regina flashed her politician's smile and usually it would put Emma on edge, but she saw that Regina was trying to look as sincere as she could without appearing too soft.
Emma warmly smiled back before she shut the door and crossed in front of the Benz to head into the station. When she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder to see Regina still parked at the curb and smiled again.
Right as she smiled, Regina started the Benz and drove off. That made Emma chuckle, since she knew Regina could see her through the windshield, before she opened the door and walked into station in a good mood. Maybe not everything was wrong.
She should have eaten that damn granola bar.
Emma closed the station an hour early, at four o'clock, since it had been a slow day. She'd also skipped out on lunch and couldn't wait until dinner at Regina's before she fed herself so she went back to Granny's.
Big mistake.
She ended her call with Michael Tillman when she opened the door to the diner, sad to hear that the mechanic struggled to find and fix the car's issues just yet.
"Oh, you're having a baby," a woman gushed as she approached Snow and Charming just when Emma walked in.
The couple stood in front of the entire diner with large smiles on their faces and it reminded Emma of how they looked on Thanksgiving at the head of the table.
"That's fantastic news," Archie said as he came up and patted Charming's arm with support. "Congratulations."
Apparently, Emma's parents couldn't wait to announce their pregnancy to the rest of the town any longer since they'd finally decided to share the news with their "family".
Too enthralled with the baby excitement, no one noticed Emma walk up to the counter even though her eyes never left the merry group of townspeople.
"It's about time something good happened around here," Emma heard someone say. "It's been a rough year, almost two now, since the curse broke. If we can't go back to the Enchanted Forest, it's nice to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel."
"Yes," someone exclaimed in agreement. "True Love prevails!"
"Here, here!"
Emma sat down when the crowd raised their glasses and toasted to Snow and Charming's happiness.
She frowned with a hurt look on her face as she watched Snow and Charming laugh before they clinked their glasses together with the others then shared a sickeningly sweet kiss. Her eyes skated across the diner and took in all the people in attendance. Her eyes froze on the one person she probably should have expected there, but hadn't.
Neal.
Archie patted Neal's back and Emma stared at the group as they all seemed to accept the man who had broken her heart, the first and only to do so.
Before she took the time to dwell too much on the past, Emma pulled out her phone and sent a short text to Regina.
"Car isn't fixed. Come get me?"
Thankfully, the response came quick enough for Emma to remain blissfully distracted from everything that went on around her.
"Where?"
"Granny's."
"Hey," Ruby approached Emma from behind the counter and greeted the blonde with a large smile. "Can I get you something?"
Emma looked up from her phone at the celebration and it took Emma every bit of strength she had to tear her eyes away from it. After a few seconds, she accomplished her goal and looked up at Ruby as she pocketed her phone. She met the waitress' gaze for a split second before she averted her eyes.
"No, I... I'm not hungry," Emma quietly confessed as she stared down at the counter in front of her.
Ruby frowned.
"Then what's up?"
Just before Ruby finished her question, Emma abruptly stood and spun around to leave. She hurried toward the door, but her parents finally noticed her.
"Emma," Snow cheerily called out and broke away from the crowd. "Come celebrate with us."
"No thanks," Emma faked a smile. "I've got to get going."
"But we haven't seen you since Thanksgiving," Snow frowned and looked over her daughter's features. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah," Emma nodded and forced her smile to widen. "I just don't want to be late."
"Late for what," Charming asked as he came to stand behind Snow and placed both hands on his wife's arms.
Snow flashed a quick but peaceful smile at Charming's touch, but allowed it to fade before Emma spoke again.
"I wanted to check on my car."
It wasn't really a lie, but she didn't have to see Michael to check on his progress. A phone call she'd already made had sufficed.
"There's something wrong with your car," Snow asked.
"Uh, yeah, it kinda stalled on me earlier today. It's fine. I'm sure when I go to the shop I'll be able to drive it home."
Snow smiled, her eyes filled with hope as she casually shrugged.
"Then there's no rush," Snow started and took Emma's hand in hers without permission. "Have a drink for me."
Snow pulled Emma toward the crowd, but the blonde resisted and tugged her hand back.
"No, really. I'm good," Emma tried not to get angry.
Just then, Regina opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway the second she looked around and saw the tense situation she'd walked into.
"What's the trouble," Charming lightheartedly asked with a smile. "You rushed out on us for Thanksgiving and we haven't seen or heard from you in days. Aren't you happy for us?"
As if that question wasn't bad enough, Charming reached out and tried to put a hand on Emma's shoulder.
That did it.
Emma shrugged away from Charming's outstretched hand and lost all patience. The nice and considerate Emma Swan had officially checked out and the furious, outspoken Emma Swan took her place.
"Yeah, I'm happy for you," Emma refrained from yelling, though she had no idea how. "I'm happy you're getting a second chance at parenthood because everyone should get a second chance, right? Like maybe I should get a second chance at childhood?!"
There it was. The yelling. Too late to turn back, Emma made herself heard and wouldn't bother to lower her voice until she'd said all she needed to say.
"Emma," Snow shook her head and looked deeply concerned for the blonde while maintaining a confused expression at the same time.
Emma clenched her fists at her sides and she felt a familiar surge inside herself of something she couldn't place.
Neal started to wade through the crowd to get out in front of everyone for a better look at Emma.
"I'm thrilled that you're having a kid," Emma continued. "Not another kid, just a kid. That's how you and everyone else around here see it, right?"
"Emma, is there something we need to discuss," Snow calmly and quietly asked as she cautiously approached Emma.
Her almost scolding tone suggested there was something wrong with Emma and that the blonde was misbehaving in public like a six year old throwing a tantrum.
Emma scoffed and took a step back so Snow couldn't get any closer.
"Oh, am I embarrassing you?! Just another reason for you to be more than happy about the baby."
Neal nudged his way to the front of the crowd and worriedly stared as Emma got worked up. He almost looked sad for her.
Regina took another step inside, just enough to close the diner door, and stared with her mouth agape at the scene that unfolded before her.
"Fuck you," Emma growled.
"Hey, don't talk to your mother like that," Charming boldly warned as he pointed a finger at Emma and stepped between her and Snow.
Emma's eyes sparked with gold and everyone that could see it, gasped.
Both Charming and Snow faltered out of shock and backed away from Emma.
"Bite me!"
Dark blue smoke swirled around Emma and hid her from sight for several seconds before it dissipated.
"Emma," Neal questioned her change in appearance.
Emma's expression matched the crowd's shock, everyone speechless, as she stood before the diner in a red, black, and white plaid dress with black tights and black boots that stopped mid-calve. Her hair, loosely curled like it had been when she first came to Storybrooke, was pulled back into a ponytail. She saw the people in front of her through thick, black rimmed glasses, her lips painted red and parted in confusion. A black leather jacket took the place of her black pea coat. The only thing she didn't have to complete her younger look was a leather messenger bag.
"What..." Emma started to form a question, but trailed off.
"Oh...Emma," Snow breathed out.
"Who the hell are you," Emma asked as she looked between Snow and Charming.
"Shit," Neal said under his breath as his eyes roamed over Emma's body from head to toe a few times in disbelief.
Regina tensed and stood stock still with an even more shocked expression. Not only did Emma's magic surprise her, but what that magic lead to. The way Emma stood in the diner, not at all like her usual self, baffled the brunette beyond words.
Emma looked around and quickly spotted Neal. Lips already parted, she opened her mouth wider as she tried to speak again, but Charming stopped her.
"Emma, how old are you?"
Emma turned her head to acknowledge Charming and furrowed her brow.
"How do you know my name?"
"Emma," Neal carefully stepped toward the blonde.
Emma's attention fell to Neal once again.
"What did you do," Neal asked.
"Me? I didn't do anything! Where are we?"
"How old are you," Neal repeated Charming's question as he stopped in front of Emma.
Emma questioningly stared at Neal and tilted her head to the side.
"Eighteen."
A few murmurs and other noises emitted out of surprise and incredulity filled Granny's diner.
"Uh, Emma, how long have you known me," Neal asked.
"A little over two months. Neal, what's going on?"
"Damn," Neal exhaled and shot Snow and Charming an apologetic look.
Neal turned back to Emma and took both her hands in his.
"Come with me," he said. "I'll explain everything."
Emma scoffed and shook free of Neal's loose hold.
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Neal blinked, puzzled by Emma's response as she backed away from him and suspiciously looked around at the people in the diner again. She glanced over Regina, but hardly noticed the other woman before she started to yell again.
"You left me," Emma exclaimed.
"Oh," was Neal's only reply.
"Oh? Is that all you have to say?"
Snow and Charming questioningly looked at Neal.
"What is she talking about," Charming asked him.
"I...you know Emma did eleven months in jail for grand larceny, right," Neal answered the question with another question.
"Yeah," Charming said.
"And you know that was my fault, right?"
Charming's face lit up with recognition. Snow hadn't quite pieced it together yet so Neal elaborated.
"She remembers being picked up by the cops."
"Yeah," Emma quickly cut in, upset. "We agreed to meet at nine and you took off with almost twenty thousand dollars in stolen watches."
"What's the last thing you remember," Neal curiously asked.
"A cop asking me if I know my Miranda rights and realizing that you weren't coming back," Emma bitterly said.
"Okay," Snow nodded as the information sunk in then looked at Emma. "She should come with us."
"I agree," Charming said as he and Snow moved toward Emma. "We're her parents. We'll fill her in."
"I don't have parents," Emma casually confessed.
Snow and Charming both grimaced and almost flinched at Emma's words. It seemed they had moved two steps forward with their daughter only fall back one.
Neal scratched the back of his head and grimaced as he looked from Snow and Charming back to Emma. He dropped his hand as he started to speak to the blonde.
"It's okay, Emma. They'll take care of you," Neal tried to assure her.
"Right. Like you took care of me?"
"Yeah, okay. I deserve that."
"Damn right you do," Emma immediately shot back.
"Emma," Snow tried again as she closed the distance between them. "Come with us. We'll take you home and explain everything."
"What's there to explain," Emma asked as she shook her head and skeptically looked at her supposed parents.
"For starters? You're actually twenty-nine," Snow replied. "Although clearly not at the moment."
Emma gaped at her.
"And there's a little bit more than that," Snow added with a wince, nervous about Emma's reaction.
Emma slowly shook her head with wide eyes, speechless.
"Let's get out of here," Snow slowly suggested. "David and I will walk you through whatever we can."
"First, I want to know how the hell she's eighteen again," Charming said as he stared directly at Neal.
"You saw her eyes. That was magic," Neal said.
"Okay. Why is she eighteen again," Charming sternly asked as Snow started to lead Emma out of the diner.
Neal shrugged.
"I don't know. Just because I've been around magic doesn't mean I understand it. That's a question for Regina."
"He's right," Snow piped up as she stopped on her way to the door and looked over her shoulder at Charming before she turned to the door and stared at Regina. "How could this have happened?"
Regina looked from Emma's doe eyes to Snow's hard, bewildered expression. She hesitantly stepped toward Snow and Emma and tried to focus on the other brunette. The sight of a much younger Emma, however, monopolized most of her attention.
"Magic is," Regina slowly started with her eyes on Emma. "Tied to emotion."
Emma blankly stared at Regina as the other woman approached, but she blinked a few times and her expression turned quizzical. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as she considered the woman who stood face-to-face with her.
Regina saw the cogs turn in Emma's head when she looked into those familiar, at that moment more youthful, green eyes. Her breath subtly hitched before she managed to tear her eyes away from the blonde and looked over at Snow.
"It appears her emotions have manifested from a figurative state of being to a literal state," Regina explained.
"What does that mean," Neal stepped up and asked out of an obvious and large amount of befuddlement.
Regina tamped down any anger or discontent for Henry's father and remained informative. Pushing negative feelings down became much easier when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Emma shift in place.
Regina cleared her throat and looked at Emma again when she continued to explain.
"Whatever you felt before your...transformation, you must have unknowingly tapped into your magic to physically express those feelings."
"What were you feeling," Charming asked as he briskly invaded Emma's personal space and blocked Regina from his daughter's view.
Emma took a few steps back to keep a distance between her and Charming with a piercing, accusatory gaze focused on the overly forward man.
"I don't know," Emma nervously snapped out of frustration.
Neal stepped between Charming and Emma with his hands outstretched between them to help Emma create the distance she sought.
"You're kind of backing her into a corner," Neal told Charming. "She doesn't like feeling or being trapped."
Snow grabbed Charming's arm and pulled her husband away from Neal and Emma. She turned to Regina before she asked her next question.
"It's okay," Snow calmly said. "Whatever it was she felt, there's not much we can do about it now, right?"
"Well, I'd have to do some research," Regina started. "But I believe the only way to reverse this spell is to find out what caused her to change back into her eighteen year old self."
"So, if Emma ever tells us, or even remembers what feelings brought on this magic, the spell can be reversed," Charming asked while he decided to stay away and give Emma the space she apparently wanted.
"If my suspicions about the spell are right, knowing the feelings that caused her transformation is only half the issue," Regina said as she looked from Charming to Emma.
"And the other half," Neal asked.
"Dealing with the cause of those feelings," Regina answered as she slid her eyes from Emma to Neal.
"Are you suggesting there's something wrong with our daughter," Snow angrily asked as she aggressively stepped toward Regina.
"Something is obviously wrong if she felt the need to be eighteen again," Regina argued with a raised voice. "That doesn't mean something's wrong with her."
Emma smiled at Regina even though the other woman kept her gaze on Snow. Her cheeks warmed with a genuine happiness, grateful to have someone on her side.
Snow huffed at Regina then turned to Charming.
"We should go. The sooner we talk to Emma, the easier this all might be for her," Snow said as she looked from Charming to Emma and faintly, reassuringly smiled.
Charming sighed with defeat as he looked at Snow then Emma. He nodded and followed the women out.
Emma reluctantly let herself be ushered out of the diner with a scowl. When Snow opened the door to an old, two-seater truck, she withheld a groan and squeezed herself between the seats.
Charming got in the driver's seat while Snow sat in the passenger's seat with Emma unhappily stuck between them.
Once they started driving back to their house, Snow looked over and noticed Emma's discomfort. She rubbed Emma's back and smiled.
"We'll figure this out," Snow said.
Emma tensed when she felt Snow's hand on her back and concentrated on the road ahead, but her mind wasn't on the road. Deep in thought, the cogs in Emma's brain turned and turned while she zoned out. Before she knew it, Snow had shown her inside the Charming household and sat her down in the dining room.
For the next hour while Charming prepared an impromptu dinner, Emma listened to Snow as she asked Emma what she knew about fairy tales then proceeded to explain the history of Storybrooke. She told her about the dark curse and how Emma broke it, which caused Snow to segue into a conversation about Henry.
Emma had no idea who he was and once she knew he was not only her son but Neal and Regina's son too, she regretted ever asking about the kid. But instead of focusing on the eleven – almost twelve – year old, she asked about Regina when Charming rejoined them with food. The two strangers that claimed to be her parents frantically tried to sum up their involvement with Regina in record time, but it took much longer than anything else they discussed. It also struck up some memories in Emma's mind, but she didn't voice any of them. Her eyes had lit up with recognition, but she quickly slipped back into a neutral expression before either Snow or Charming caught on.
Finally, when Snow and Charming finished their lesson on the where, when, and who's of Emma's conundrum, they asked her if she was okay.
"Yeah. I mean, it's...a lot to take in," Emma replied.
Snow and Charming nodded their understanding.
"I think I just need a minute," Emma added.
"Of course," Snow said. "You can stay in our guest room. I'll show you where it is."
Emma forced a genial smile and nodded as she stood and followed Snow to the stairs.
"Thanks," Emma kindly said as she tried to settle into the room.
"If you need anything, David and I are around."
"Okay," Emma smiled again as she sat on the edge of the bed.
Snow smiled back, hers more genuine and loving, before she closed the door on her way out.
Emma's smile instantly disappeared and she sighed before she got up and turned her attention to the only window in the room. She opened the window and looked down to see the two story drop and a section of rooftop to the right. She spun around, went straight to the closet, and searched for something for a couple minutes only to come away empty handed.
She sighed and stood still in front of the closet, seemingly out of options, when she heard Snow raise her voice with concern in a conversation with Charming. She went to the closed guest room door and pressed her ear to it.
"She was just so angry," she heard Snow exclaim.
"I know, but there's not much we can do about until we figure out what happened."
"Why would she feel the need to resort to magic though? What did she think she couldn't talk to us about that made her do this?"
"I'm sure Regina will figure something out," Charming assured Snow.
Regina.
Emma backed away from the door and grabbed her jacket off of the bed. She reached into the pocket and pulled out her phone. When she lit up the display, it alerted her about two missed calls from Regina. The time stamp on the calls indicated the woman had tried to reach her during her long conversation with Snow and Charming, probably when they were eating.
Emma slipped her jacket on as quickly as possible and went back to the open window. She looked to her right at the section of roof that covered a small back patio. She carefully stretched her legs to touch the roof then nervously slid onto it. She eased herself onto her knees and released the breath she'd been holding. She turned over to sit on the roofing and peeked over the edge then measured the distance between the roof and the ground.
She took a moment to calculate a plan then flipped onto her stomach and lowered herself over the edge. She bent at the waist to leverage herself with her upper body and scraped her stomach on the way down. Once her breasts pressed into the roof just before the edge, she swung her legs out and threw herself backward off the roof. She landed on her feet not too far from the patio concrete, but the force of her fall and the off-centered landing instantly had her on her back in the grass. The air left her lungs, but she only took a few seconds to recover before she rolled onto her front and pushed off the ground.
She scrambled onto her feet and looked over her shoulder as she walked around the side of the house. Happy to see that no one had followed her, she smirked and retraced the streets Charming took to bring the three of them to the house.
There wasn't a single star in the almost pitch black sky that night as she wandered the quiet streets of Storybrooke, though not without purpose. She traveled around town and fought to figure out how to get to where she wanted to go. Twenty minutes later, she stood in front of a closed, steel gate that blocked off the familiar walkway between her and a white door with three distinct, gold-plated numbers on it.
A/N: Couple of things. One, thank you so much for all the follows, favorites, and reviews! Wow! I've never gotten so many notification emails for just one story. Really, that was an awesome thing for me to see. Also, it turned me into a review junkie so I need more of those as soon as possible! ;)
Two, somebody mentioned that Emma was acting like a two year in the last chapter. Hopefully, Regina's explanation about the spell Emma used to turn herself 18 again cleared up why I had her acting a little childishly. Three, this is where the story is similar to Double Trouble by sea-ess-eye. And I know I mentioned Neal in this chapter like a major problem for Emma, but I have my reasons. I stress that he will NOT be getting together with Emma in this story. He's just another person who abandoned her, but he also knows her 18 year old self. His knowledge of young Emma is going to be SOMEWHAT important for Swan Queen reasons you'll pick up on in later chapters (some reasons that will be seen in Chapter 4 at the very least).
Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think because your feedback helps fuel my writing energy. And I could really use a reason to write right now. Lots of real life things that aren't going too well for me right now. :(