A/N: I forgot to mention in my notes for the last chapter that I made a playlist for this story. You'll have to look up the songs on YouTube and/or download them on your own, but there's a track list and album art for you to check out if you want to have music to go with this. The playlist/fan mix can be found here: post/68440128888/that-holiday-magic-fan-fic-playlist-01-the-new.
Enjoy the chapter! More to come soon. :)
That Holiday Magic
Chapter 4
Emma woke up alone that morning. It wasn't anything new to her because she usually woke up alone unless Neal had slept in and stayed in the Bug with her. But last night was different. She wasn't with Neal, she didn't have her Bug, and she hadn't fallen asleep alone.
As she looked around the empty guest bedroom, she sighed and threw off the covers. Slowly, Emma made her way downstairs and on the way, she realized how quiet it was in the house. She frowned when she reached the first floor and noticed the emptiness of the living room.
Emma awkwardly inched into the kitchen, which was also empty. Her tense body relaxed as she went from awkward to sad, maybe even a little disappointed when she ran a hand over the barren kitchen counter. No note, no food, not a trace of the inhabitants of the house left to explain their absence.
She walked around the counter and came to a stop in front of the refrigerator. Though she knew it wasn't her place and Regina had been kind enough to let her stay the night, she decided to be her usual self and take what she wanted and what she could.
Thankfully, Regina was one of those people – one of those moms – who kept plenty of leftovers stocked in the fridge.
Emma had choices.
She scanned the shelves and took in the sight of several mixing bowls, casserole dishes, covered dinner plates, and Ziploc containers. She grabbed one of the containers, lifted the lid, and inspected it with her eyes and nose. Satisfied, she set the container down on the counter and searched for clean plates. After she found one, she put the food on the plate and slid it into the microwave. She closed the microwave door and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose to settle them more firmly on her face. She backed away from the microwave and held her hands out at her sides. When her palms hit the counter behind her, she applied pressure and hoisted herself onto the counter top while she waited.
With the sound of the microwave being the only sound in the house, Emma looked around again, a little bored. Her boredom quickly turned to sadness as she took in the neatness of the house and the silence around her. She frowned and looked down at the floor from her spot on the counter.
When Regina walked into Granny's for her lunch break that day, she realized she liked the atmosphere less and less each day. The fact that Snow White and her beloved Prince were inside had more than a little to do with her new feelings toward the establishment.
"You two are friends, right," Snow asked, panicked and concerned.
"Yeah," Ruby quickly confirmed. "But I haven't talked to her since last night before her magic stunt. I thought she left with you."
"She did, but," Charming started.
"But she ran off,"Snow cut him of to finish for him. "Climbed out the window, actually."
"Well, well," Regina startled all three of them with the sound of her purred words.
In that moment, she sounded every bit like the smug Evil Queen she once reigned as in another life, another realm.
"The two proud parents have lost their daughter. What a great example to set for the one on the way. First, you put Emma in a tree trunk and shipped her to this land. Now, you've been oblivious enough to let her wander off like you didn't hear the same, if not more, things about her adolescence and childhood in Neverland than I did."
Snow flared at her former stepmother.
"None of this would have happened if you hadn't taught her magic in the first place," Snow growled.
"That was something you two idiots agreed to," Regina defended herself. "You even watched. Besides, she has magic all on her own. What she did could have happened whether I taught her how to control her magic or not."
That shut Snow White up. If only Charming had decided to stay quiet.
"What have you done with her," Charming loudly asked as he rushed toward her in a predatory step forward.
"Nothing."
"You at least have to know where she is," Charming said. "Otherwise you wouldn't care to taunt Snow."
"Oh, I always care to taunt Snow," Regina grinned as she looked from Charming to Snow then back again before she continued. "It's a bit of a hobby for me. ...But you're right. I do know where Emma is."
Snow moved around Charming to look straight at Regina.
"Where is she," Snow angrily asked. "Regina, if you hurt her–"
"I haven't harmed her in the slightest," Regina immediately shot down the claim with detest. "She's at my house and she came willingly."
"Like you didn't coerce her in some way," Snow snarled, her eyes narrows into slits.
"I really didn't. In fact, you're daughter not only came came to me of her own volition, she also broke in last night."
Snow and Charming looked flabbergasted.
"She broke in," Snow asked out of shock. "Well, if she damaged anything or jammed your lock, we'll pay for it."
"No need," Regina dismissively waved her hand. "She's very skilled at breaking and entering. Nothing is amiss. Although, I believe my grocery expenses will double with her around."
"We can pay for that too," Snow offered, sounding more like Mary Margaret.
"I can handle it," Regina insisted with a haughty purr.
"Why are you being so kind about all of this," Charming asked.
"I think the real question is, why are you two so blind about all of this?"
"All of what," Snow asked with a confused expression as she shook her head.
Regina sighed out of irritation and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes.
"Thank you for proving I'm right," Regina slowly growled in the way she normally did when it came to Snow White and her ignorance.
Regina turned to the counter and immediately grabbed Ruby's attention with her sharp, dark eyes.
"I'll take my usual," Regina said to Ruby as she placed her forearm on the counter and leaned on it.
Ruby looked frightened of Regina's dark eyes, more like her Storybrooke self afraid of the big bad Mayor. Then, she straightened up and looked Regina over before her mouth formed a tight line and her gaze steeled over, more like Red from the Enchanted Forest close to Wolf's Time.
Ruby didn't say anything else before she spun on her heels and headed back to the kitchen, but Regina knew the lean brunette had wanted to.
Regina gently pushed herself away from the counter and looked at Snow and Charming once again.
Somehow, Snow's demeanor had changed from furious with Regina to concerned about Emma.
Regina did roll her eyes that time.
"She'll be fine," Regina tried to assure her.
"And we're supposed to believe you'll see to that," Charming asked, apprehensive and still a little angry.
"Oh, you don't have to believe that," Regina started. "I don't care if you don't trust me, but apparently your daughter does. I won't break that trust."
"Why not," Snow asked. "You're not the most trustworthy person and Emma has mistakenly sought you out for whatever reason. Why not just let her figure things out for herself?"
Regina scoffed.
"Is that what you would do if she had stayed with you two?"
"No, but we're her parents. You're just..." Snow trailed off as she visibly struggled to find the right word to describe the other woman.
"I'm just making sure that whatever caused Emma to revert the way she has doesn't destroy Henry," Regina firmly said. "Besides, I know what it's like to be left to 'figure things out' for yourself at that age. Emma's already done it once. Why should she have to do it again? I sure as hell wouldn't want to relive my past, so I'll give Emma the opportunity to change hers."
"Are you saying you're going to keep her stuck like this? Reliving her life from eighteen all the way to who she is now," Charming asked.
"Of course not. She needs to fix something inside herself before she can change back. The only way to do that is figure out the cause of her transformation, as I've already told you yesterday."
"So...you're going to help her," Snow skeptically asked.
"Yes, Snow. I'm going to help her. Since you clearly ignore your own daughter, I'm sure you've also blatantly ignored your grandson as well. Whatever is bothering Emma is starting to hurt Henry. I refuse to let their relationship be effected by her fragile, emotional state."
"Sounds a lot like tough love," Charming said, displeased and judgmental.
"So far she's given me no reason to be harsh with her," Regina responded. "In fact, she may be a little rough around the edges, but she's not exactly like her twenty-nine year old self."
"If you hurt her–" Charming started to threaten her before Regina cut him off.
"Maybe you should be less concerned with what I'm doing and focus on Emma. Something's bothering her and instead of trying to figure it out, like I am, you choose to question my motives and challenge me."
Ruby walked out to the counter with a carry-out bag in hand and set it on the counter in front of Regina.
"Here," Ruby flatly said as she let go of the handles to the plastic bag.
Regina grabbed the bag and gave a curt nod to Ruby as a silent thank you before she turned to Snow and Charming once again.
"Congratulations on the baby, by the way," Regina said as she looked from Snow to the woman's slightly rounded stomach. "Maybe this time you'll get it right."
Snow gasped and Regina walked away from the couple with a sinister and wickedly proud grin on her face. The grin only lasted two steps before her expression fell and her features showed her disdain for the truth in her statement.
Emma had gobbled down most of the things in Regina's refrigerator and explored the house. The only room she had yet to take a closer look at was Regina's bedroom. For some reason, she respected the older woman enough to keep out of her private space. She rarely respected anyone given the people she'd come across in her sad and troubled past.
She made a note of the parlor and drink cart as well as the hidden liquor cabinet that shelved a backup stash of drinks for those on display on the cart plus a few extra, harder beverages tucked away.
When she headed into the living room to inspect the DVDs in the shelving unit on the right side of the entertainment system, Emma's phone rang. She scrunched up her face in distaste at the sound of the uneventful trill the phone emitted then pulled it out of her jacket pocket. The caller ID read, "Neal."
Emma rolled her eyes and pressed "Ignore" before she stuffed the phone back into her pocket and continued toward the DVD collection. She opened the glass windowed cabinet and browsed through the first row of movies when her phone chirped again.
Emma growled and pulled out her cell phone for the second time. The caller ID read the same. Neal. She didn't hesitate to ignore the call then either, but that time she abandoned the DVDs and started to play around with the phone. She quickly found the ring tone options and tapped button after button for a while until a smirk broke out on her face. Once the problem had been corrected, she slipped the phone back into her pocket and returned her attention to the second row of movies.
It took her only a minute or two for her to scan over her choices, but she never picked one. Instead, she nodded and shrugged at the selection set out before her and moved on. She puffed out a sigh on her way out of the living room and wandered toward the front door without purpose. In fact, she hadn't even realized she'd gravitated toward it until she stopped at it with her hand grasped around the handle.
Emma paused for only a short moment before she pulled the handle and left. She spent the better part of an hour aimlessly walking around town until she saw a sign that said, " Storybrooke Auto Shop." She smiled and added a little bounce to her step as she sped up her pace and headed straight for the garage.
"Hi," Emma greeted as she saw a grease coated man dressed in a grayish blue coverall tinkering with a lifted car.
She scanned the garage and spotted her beat up yellow bug parked near the left corner.
The dark haired man known as Michael Tillman for nearly three decades, stepped out from under the raised car and rubbed beads of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. When he saw her, he had to blink a few times before he took a cautious step toward her with curiosity and disbelief written on his face.
"Emma," Michael asked, his confusion evident in his tone.
His voice regained Emma's attention and she looked at the man before she answered him.
"Yeah. Does everyone in this town know me?"
Michael cracked a small smile that faded after only a few seconds.
"Um, yeah. You're the town hero– heroine," he quickly corrected himself. "You look...younger."
"Apparently magic's to blame for that," Emma casually said with a shrug. "Look, is this the only auto shop in town?"
"Yeah."
"Great. Then you have my car."
"The yellow Volkswagen. Yeah, I towed it back here maybe a day ago."
"Right. Is it ready yet? I really want it back."
"You called about it yesterday. I told you I still need some time."
Emma frowned and slumped her shoulders in defeat.
"There's no way you can, I don't know, expedite things?"
Michael apologetically looked at her as he shook his head.
"But I did just get in the part you need," Michael informed her before he changed the sunject. "I know I shouldn't be surprised about the magic, but...what the hell happened to you?"
"Not really sure. Regina says I felt something and then that feeling caused my magic to turn me eighteen again for some reason."
"Regina. So she's helping you?"
"Yeah. Seriously, is there anything you can do to get my car back to me by today?"
"Actually, I wasn't going to start on it until I assessed this car," Michael motioned over his shoulder at the car raised on a platform behind him. "But I guess if you need it back that badly–"
"Yes, please! That would be great," Emma hopefully said, her eyes almost as wide as her smile.
Michael smiled.
"Alright. Give me about forty minutes," he said as he turned and headed into his office within the garage.
Just as Michael pushed open the office door, a car sputtered and coughed up exhaust as it pulled into the auto shop driveway behind Emma.
She looked over her shoulder and saw a dark red Cadillac crawl to a stop not far from her. Her expression remained neutral until the driver turned the car off and got out. Her features quickly changed to show her dislike for the newly presented situation.
"Emma," the man greeted with a tone of surprise before he shut the car door. "I've been tryin' to call you."
"And?"
"And you didn't answer."
"Neal," Emma tiredly said. "You leaving me means I don't have to answer when you call."
Neal sighed.
"You're right. I'm sorry."
Michael emerged from his office with a car part in hand and came to stand in the doorway of the garage.
"Hey," Michael said to Neal after he looked up and noticed him with Emma.
"Hey," Neal replied with a greeting nod directed at Michael as he looked at the mechanic from over Emma's shoulder.
"You need something," Michael asked.
"Yeah, actually. Could you take a look at my dad's car? I think it needs an oil change or something."
"Yeah, alright," Michael slowly said. "How's he doing?"
"My dad?"
"Yeah. Rumpelstiltskin."
"He's, uh, feeling better. Although, he needs his meds so I'm kinda in a rush."
"What a shame," Michael sarcastically said.
"Hey, I know better than anyone how my father is and you have every right to not want to help him, but...he's still my dad, y'know? Think you can look at the car as a favor to me and not him? I'll owe you."
"We'll see," Michael replied before he looked at Emma. "Your car is my first priority."
Emma flashed him a smile.
"Thanks," she said.
Michael nodded and returned the smile before he turned toward the inside of the garage and disappeared in the direction of Emma's yellow bug.
"How long's it gonna take for him to fix the car," Neal asked Emma.
Emma reluctantly turned back to face him and sighed.
"About forty minutes. Why?"
Neal grimaced and nervously rubbed the back of his neck.
"You think I could take it," Neal asked.
"What?! No. Hell no," Emma exclaimed.
"Emma, come on. I need to pick up my dad's prescription at the pharmacy. It'll only be like this for a few more weeks with physical therapy and then he'll be okay enough to get his own refills."
"I don't care! It's my car."
Neal made a face before he corrected her.
"Technically it's my car. I stole it first, remember," Neal teased in an attempt to relieve some of the tension he felt start to rise the longer they talked.
Emma shook her head and swallowed her tears. She fished the car keys out her jacket pocket and looked down at them for a second before she looked back up at him.
"Fine," Emma bitterly said. "Take it."
Emma tossed the keys at him and he fumbled them in his hands as he struggled to catch the keys against his chest.
"You've taken everything else. Why not the car too?"
Emma quickly pushed past him and hurried down the driveway of the auto shop.
"Emma," Neal called out as he started to follow after her.
"Stay away from me," Emma threw over her shoulder with growl as she tamped down her urge to cry and focused on anger instead.
"Emma!"
Neal called out to her a few more times, but respected her enough to keep his distance and let her go off on her own. The more he called out to her, however, the stronger his concern bled out in his tone of voice.
After his fifth or sixth attempt to call Emma back to the garage, he gave up and turned back to the shop.
Michael was already standing just inside the garage with his eyes focused on Emma's retreating form, but his amazing peripheral vision granted him a glimpse of Neal turning to face him. The instant he knew he had Neal's attention, Michael looked from Emma to Neal and glared at the man in the driveway.
"Yeah," Neal muttered under his breath. "He's not gonna be doing me any favors."
Regina sighed as she walked up to her front door. It had been a long day filled with a headache inducing look into her mother's spell book and an exhausting phone call with a bitter Rumpelstiltskin in desperate need of pain killers. All any of that research did was confirm her suspicions about the spell Emma had accidentally performed on herself.
She rummaged through her purse and dug out her house keys, but as she raised the key to stick it in the lock she heard loud music blasting from inside. She furrowed her brow and hesitated before she slid the key in the lock and twisted.
When she pushed open the door, she didn't know what she'd been expecting. The music instantly became louder once the door no longer served as a barrier between her and the stereo. She had predicted that. What surprised her, however, was Emma on the couch in the living room with three different liquor bottles set out on the coffee table. A bottle of whiskey was among the three, but Emma held it by the neck with only half of the amber colored liquid left for consumption.
Regina quickly noticed that Emma hadn't even bothered with tumblers or shot glasses. Apparently, Emma liked her liquor straight out of the bottle. She also only wore the white t-shirt Regina had lent her the previous night and a pair of lace panties.
Emma bobbed her head to the angst riddled rock music and didn't see Regina in the archway until she took a long swig of whiskey. When she tipped her head back, she saw a slight movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head only to spot Regina staring at her, mouth agape.
"Hey! Regina," Emma exclaimed with a smile. "You're back!"
"I do live here, Miss Swan," Regina said as she looked from the coffee table to Emma's glittering green eyes.
"Nobody comes back when they leave me," Emma sadly and quietly blurted out.
"I didn't leave you," Regina shook her head as she finally stepped into the living room. "I–"
Regina cut herself off and let out a frustrated sigh before she set her gaze on the stereo.
"Can you turn that off," Regina asked as she yelled over the unsettling music.
"Ummm," Emma said as she squirmed on the couch and looked on and around the coffee table for the remote before she inspected the cushions she sat on.
Emma looked behind her on the couch, saw the remote, and grabbed it without a second thought. She pointed it at the stereo on one of three shelves beneath the TV in the entertainment system.
Silence immediately filled the house and Regina relaxed.
"I didn't leave you," Regina calmly started again. "I went to work. I'm the Mayor."
"Oh. Right. Well," Emma perked up again. "Now that you're back, you can sit with me."
Regina furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side, puzzled by Emma's behavior.
"Come on," Emma said as she patted the space beside her on the couch while she tucked her legs under herself and sat cross-legged.
"Henry should be home from Dr. Hopper's office any minute now," Regina said as she refused to move any further into the living room, which would undoubtedly bring her closer to Emma.
"Dr. Hopper?"
"Yes, he has therapy twice a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays. One day wasn't enough for him after Neverland," Regina confessed.
"Right," Emma nodded. "I'm sure that was a mutual decision? To have him go twice a week?"
"Yes," Regina smiled. "Are you starting to remember anything?"
"Nope," Emma answered a little too quickly. "Come have a drink with me. Maybe I can get the Mayor drunk enough to do or say something embarrassing."
Emma grinned at Regina who rolled her eyes.
Regina set her purse down on the end table beside one side of the couch and dropped her keys back inside it before she relented and sat down on the couch with Emma.
"How was your day," Emma asked before she took another swig of whiskey then held it out to Regina in offering.
Regina put up her hand to stop Emma from nearly pouring the whiskey down her throat and answered the younger woman.
"Unpleasant."
Emma pulled the whiskey bottle back toward herself and drank a fingers worth of it. The only reason she didn't finish off the bottle right then was because of the other woman on the couch.
"How long have you been drinking," Regina asked, deeply concerned as she noticed the bottle of tequila, thankfully still three fourths full.
"Mm, since lunchtime? I don't know. Does it matter?"
"Have you eaten anything," Regina asked as she pulled away from the coffee table and looked over at Emma.
"Not since before I left."
"Which was when?"
"Before I came back and started drinking. Do you always wear tight skirts and a sharp looking jacket?"
"For work, yes," Regina answered. "Emma, what happened today?"
"I was left to my own devices."
"Emma, what's wrong?"
After a silent moment spent staring at Regina, Emma's lips curled into a lazy, lopsided smile.
"Nothing...now that you're here," the blonde replied.
Emma pushed herself onto her knees and leaned forward on the couch, the bottle of whiskey still in hand. She brought her lips close enough to Regina's for them to graze while she threw one leg over Regina's lap and straddled her.
"What are you doing," Regina asked, a little nervous, but more startled.
"Trying to kiss the mayor," Emma flirtatiously said with a smirk.
Regina shot her hands to Emma's hips and squeezed.
"You're drunk," Regina said as she tried to push Emma off of herself.
Emma covered Regina's hands with her own and slid them off of her hips as she leaned further in to bring her mouth even closer to Regina's lips.
"Maybe," Emma nearly purred.
Regina's breath hitched when their lips almost touched, but the contact never came because the moment was interrupted by a loud song that erupted from the blonde's cell phone.
"Suckin' on my titties like you're wanting me, callin' me all the time like Blondie. Check out my Chrissie behind. It's fine all of the time."
Emma puffed out an agitated sigh against Regina's lips and physically deflated as she slummed in Regina's lap, her shoulders hunched and body curved toward the brunette in a "C" shape.
"What is that," Regina asked, even more shocked about what she heard than about Emma's previous actions.
"Like sex on the beaches. What else is in the teaches of Peaches?"
"Neal," Emma groaned as she started to slid off Regina's lap and turned to the coffee table filled with empty and near empty liquor bottles. "He's been calling me all afternoon."
"That does not explain the ringtone," Regina said just before the song surprised her even further, something she hadn't thought possible.
"Fuck the pain away. Fuck the pain away. Fuck the pain away."
Regina's eyes widened before she pushed herself off the couch and stood.
"Honestly, what is that," Regina asked.
Emma picked up her phone and looked from it to Regina and smirked when she saw the stunned expression on the other woman's face.
"It's a song."
"That is not a song," Regina insisted. "That is crude noise."
"It came out a week or two after I met Neal," Emma said.
"And why is it playing now?"
"It plays every time he calls," Emma said as she tossed the still ringing phone on the couch and closed the limited space between them again.
"Turn it off," Regina said as she raised a hand between them at chest level to halt Emma's advance.
Emma looked down at the hand between them and emitted a breathy chuckle. She took a bold step forward and forced Regina's hand to graze one of her breasts. She bit her bottom lip as she grinned and moved as close as possible to the other woman, which caused Regina's hand to trail up to her shoulder.
"Miss Swan–"
"Emma," the younger woman sweetly corrected, her lips temptingly close to Regina's.
"Em-ma," Regina started and went back to her slow and awkward two syllable pronunciation of the blonde's first name. "Please turn it off."
Regina firmly but gently grabbed both of Emma's shoulders and pushed the teen back a step or two.
Emma frowned and looked a little hurt seconds before anger flashed across her features.
"Fine," Emma bit out as she picked up the phone again and silenced it without answering the call.
Emma kept her eyes down and focused on the phone while she bent down and retrieved her discarded dress from the living room floor. When she took the few steps back to her previous position in front of Regina, she only glanced up at the woman a couple of times as she spoke.
"I'm gonna go for a walk," Emma said as she peeled off the borrowed white shirt then pulled her dress overhead and slipped into it.
"Where will you be?"
"Around," Emma replied as she tugged her dress into place.
"Emma–" Regina tried to say something and took a step toward Emma.
Emma immediately took a step back.
Regina tensed up and stood completely still to ensure she didn't push Emma away any further than she felt she already had.
"Bye," Emma quickly said and spun around to face the front door.
"No, wait. Emma, I'm sorry," Regina sincerely tried to apologize, which would have been surprising had she not started to care for the blonde during their time in Neverland and the months that followed upon their return to Storybrooke.
Regina tried to follow after Emma, but, as she had told Emma it would happen soon, Henry came home.
Emma was only a few steps away from the door when it swung open and Henry swiftly stepped inside the mansion. Emma pushed right past him and accidentally bumped hips with the growing young man. She didn't speak a single word even during their half-body collision and that caused Henry to scrunch up his face and frown at the blonde.
Henry looked over his shoulder and watched Emma continue to brush past him and walk out the door. She didn't even bother to close it on her way out.
Henry waited a moment as he continued to watch Emma leave and went back to the front door just as Emma stepped off the porch. He shut the door behind her as she headed down the walkway and turned to Regina with concern etched onto his face.
"What's with her?"
"I think I did something to upset her, but I'm not sure what," Regina admitted.
Henry frowned and dropped his shoulders before he slid his backpack straps off his shoulders and left the bag slumped against the side of the end table by the winding staircase.
"You think one of us should follow her," Henry asked.
Regina shook her head.
"Giving her space might be best."
Henry nodded his acceptance and understanding then made his way into the kitchen. Regina followed him.
"Got any food," Henry asked.
Regina smiled.
"Of course."
The phone in the Sheriff's station rang every few minutes and went unanswered until David returned from the bathroom. He was still adjusting his shirt inside his pants as he jogged into Emma's office, recently made his until Emma returned to her adult self, and picked up the phone.
"Sheriff's station. David speaking," he quickly answered.
After a moment, the frantic and panicked voice of a concerned citizen caused David's eyes to widen and his jaw to drop with disbelief. "She what?"
David immediately regretted asking for the person on the other end of the line to repeat themselves because they yelled into the phone and nearly caused David to lose his hearing.
"Okay, I'm on my way," David said a split second before he hurriedly hung up the phone, grabbed the Sheriff's badge he'd taken from Emma's apartment before opening the station that day, and left with his gun in the holster secured around his hips.
He disregarded any speed limits the small town of Storybrooke had and sped over to the recent epicenter of negative attention. He no longer had to second guess what he'd heard from the person who'd called it in. Charming saw it clearly from about a mile away as he approached the intersection.
Though he knew the call to be a legitimate concern, Charming still hadn't believed what he saw.
Emma, his daughter, held a titanium bat and swung away at fences and windows to businesses and houses alike as if it were a game of softball.
Charming parked the only squad car the town had on the curb not too far from Emma's rage and rushed out of it to stop any further damage. From the angry looks on several people's faces as they all stood around and watched Emma's violent display of misdemeanors, he knew their family would have to pay for the repairs needed.
"Emma," Charming firmly called out to her just as she pulled back the bat in preparation to hit something else.
Emma didn't even turn to look at him before she smashed through another shop window.
"Oh, come on," one of the townspeople said loud enough to gain Emma's attention.
Emma rounded on him and glared as she took a few steps toward him, bat threateningly raised.
"Emma!"
Charming ran toward his daughter while the man Emma came at with the bat took several steps back to get away from her, arms protectively raised while he cowered away from the teen.
Emma swiftly turned to the right and started to swing at the other window to the fearful man's shop, but she was stopped mid-swing by Charming.
Charming grabbed her from behind with both hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the shop.
"Let go of me," Emma yelled as she squirmed in his tight embrace.
Charming managed to drag her back toward the intersection, closer to the squad car, when Emma managed to elbow him in the ribs. He immediately released her with a groan and bent over at the waist.
Emma wrestled away from him then turned to acknowledge the pain she'd inflicted. Her eyes scanned over the area from Charming to the squad car that temptingly sat parked, unharmed.
Emma marched over to the vehicle and pounded down on the windshield with the bat.
"Hey," a booming female voice called out from up the street perpendicular to the one Charming had parked on.
Emma stopped to find the source of the voice and spotted Granny standing outside her diner with a hand on her hip and a scowl on her face. She looked like a scolding parent ready to rip into their misbehaving child and a part of Emma enjoyed that, even grinned without a care. The other part, the teenager in her that didn't know everyone in town, made the grin disappear and defiantly lifted her chin.
"You better get a hold of yourself, young lady," Granny said to Emma.
"Oh, yeah? And what are you gonna do if I don't," Emma asked, ever the moody teenager with authority problems.
"It's not what she'll do," Charming breathlessly said as he gritted his teeth through the pain of the bruises he knew Emma's elbow to the ribs had caused him. "It's what I'll do."
As Charming finished his statement, Emma heard a pair of cuffs jingle and felt him tug at one of her wrists.
"Not gonna happen," Emma insisted as she yanked her wrist out of Charming's grasp.
Her efforts were pointless when Charming, as gently as possible with still enough force to have the proper effect, pushed her against the hood of the squad car.
Charming didn't hesitate to grab Emma's wrists one at a time and seal the metal cuffs around them. It took only a few seconds for him to cuff one wrist behind Emma's back then pull the blonde's hand away from the bat, which rolled off the hood of the car as soon as she was forced to let go. Within a minute, Charming had his daughter handcuffed in front of a cop car. He frowned at that realization, but started to pull her toward the backseat of the car.
Emma instantly started to fight him, something she hadn't done for a couple of reasons when the cop in Portland had arrested her, and refused to be taken to the Sheriff's station. She wriggled her arms behind her back to free herself from his hands clasped around her forearms while she pushed all of her weight against him the closer they got to the backseat.
"Stop struggling. This is for your own good. I promise," Charming tried to assure her, but Emma hadn't stopped struggling.
"Don't touch me," Emma yelled, which attracted even more attention. "There's no way you're locking me up!"
"Just get in the car. Please," Charming pleaded as he held her wrists with one of his hands and opened the back door with the other.
"No!"
Emma stomped down on Charming's foot and spun away from his hold on her like basketball player during a pick-and-roll. She ran for freedom, still cuffed, but out of nowhere Snow White appeared with sadness and worry written all over her face.
"Emma?"
Emma stopped in the middle of the street, trapped by her mother in front of her and her father not too far behind her. She only had two other options, left or right. She looked between her options and saw Granny still standing outside the diner to Emma's right. That only left her with one option if she thought Granny would keep her from her escape plan, which she didn't doubt in that moment at all.
So Emma took off in the only direction that would allow her to disappear from the poorly unfolding scene she'd been stuck in. Her run wasn't as graceful or as efficient as it would have been had she not had her hands cuffed behind her back, but it was all she had to sprint as best she could away from the intersection.
Her run for refuge lasted maybe ten seconds before Charming caught up with her, only a little worse for wear considering the way Emma had attacked him. He grabbed for her forearms and turned her around before he pushed her toward the squad car once again.
Emma frowned and tried a few more moves to injure Charming, but he'd been much quicker that time and avoided every supposed-to-be-hurtful action.
"Let go," Emma refused to give up the fight as she shouted her protest. "Get away from me! Just let me go!"
Everyone that stood outside witnessed the heartbreaking sight of their Queen and her King nearly fall apart at Emma's sad outburst. They watched Charming place Emma into the backseat of the car and close the door on her. They saw her kick around and try to turn her back to the car door so she could open it with her restrained hands. They didn't turn away when Charming got into the car along with Snow hurrying into the passenger's seat before the doors locked and the family drove to the station. Some of the townspeople even saw Emma look out the window with tears in her eyes as the car passed by.
Emma didn't allow herself to cry, however. Her eyes were watery, tears ready to slip out and stain her cheeks, but as weak as she felt on the drive to the station, she wanted to show only strength. She was tough, or at least she liked to believe that. Being the angry little girl she had, she'd developed a tough skin. That didn't mean it didn't hurt whenever she was rejected or detained or abandoned for the millionth time.
By the time they'd made it to the Sheriff's station, both parents still concerned – though Snow showed it more than Charming – Emma had slipped on her angry mask. Her lips were turned down in a frown while her eyes were hard, steely and determined to express her dislike toward the situation.
Charming opened the door for her and reached out to help Emma onto her feet, but the blonde shrugged away from his touch and removed herself from the car on her own. He shut the door behind her and before Emma could even think about running again, Snow lightly grabbed Emma's bicep and led her toward the station door.
Both Snow and Charming got Emma into one of two cells the station had to offer with minimal struggle from the teen. Neither parent seemed to like what they'd done once Emma was locked away behind the metal bars, but when they looked at each other they understood that neither one of them knew how else to handle the situation.
"What should we do," Snow quietly asked as they walked across the room toward the Sheriff's office.
"I honestly don't know," Charming said as he shut the office door to keep Emma from overhearing their discussion.
Charming looked at Emma for a moment longer and watched his daughter dejectedly plop down on the cot within the cell before she leaned back against the cement wall and sat with her legs crossed and folded beneath herself. His eyes fell from the blonde to the floor by his feet with a frown on his face before he turned around and faced Snow.
"Was Emma really like this at that age," Snow asked. "Was she this violent? What could have possibly caused her to react this way?"
"I don't know," Charming shrugged though his tone suggested he was a little frustrated at that point. "I know as much as you do about our daughter."
"I know. I'm sorry," Snow sighed. "I just...I don't know what to do! We tried to keep her at the house, but she ran off before she even gave us a chance. And she ran to Regina of all people. Why did she go to Regina? Why did she trust her and not us with giving her a place to stay? We were nice, right? We explained everything she needed to know, didn't we?"
"Yes, Snow. And Regina's the last person I want Emma to trust with all this, whatever this is, but maybe we should just let Emma decide what she needs."
"Well, leaving her in Regina's care hasn't exactly helped the situation, has it," Snow asked.
"I'm sure Regina doesn't even know about this," Charming casually defended the other woman.
"That's my point! She argued just this afternoon that Emma would be fine with her and yet, she's not even aware of the damage Emma's caused."
"We can always call her."
"No," Snow quickly and sharply turned down the idea. "No, she had her chance to prove Emma was better off with her and she obviously isn't capable of helping our daughter."
Snow thought over something and after a moment of reflection, she voiced her plan.
"We'll keep Emma here for half an hour so she can calm down then take her back to the house. She'll stay with us until we can figure out a way to change her back into an adult."
Snow spoke with such finality that Charming sighed in defeat and went along with it. He didn't completely disagree with it, but he still wanted to brainstorm a little more. Though instead of arguing with Snow, he let her have her way.
Parenting was a joint effort with married couples and he intended to keep it that way, especially since anything they did with Emma while she remained in her teenaged body and state of mind would be practice for the baby on the way. But Emma hadn't been gentle with his ribs or foot and he wanted some time to recuperate from the assault as well as having had to arrest his own daughter. He certainly didn't like that weighing on his conscience, but what other option had there been during Emma's destruction?
Regina had only sat down with Henry for an early dinner when she'd gotten the call. Granny had explained that Emma was on a rampage and the elder woman said she was about to step in herself to ensure nothing else would be smashed in by the furious young blonde.
Regina had looked over at Henry at the dining room table, still on the phone with Granny, and made a decision within seconds before thanking Granny for the heads up and ending the conversation. Once she hung up the home phone, Regina went back to the table and placed a hand on Henry's shoulder.
Henry looked up at his mother and saw everything he needed to know expressed in her eyes.
"It's Emma, isn't it," he stated.
Regina apologetically looked at him and nodded.
Henry set his fork down on the plate he'd barely eaten from and stood. He wordlessly went toward the front door and grabbed his coat.
Regina was much slower while she watched him with curiosity. The fact that Henry knew Emma had done something that required Regina's attention was enough to make her feel bad about the situation, but add to that the fact that Henry was ready to help and Regina was conflicted. She wanted to be proud of him, and a part of her was, but the other part of her knew his awareness and readiness meant he had more to deal with when it came to his relationship with Emma.
She worried about Henry, but due to Granny's phone call she know worried about Emma as well. It was like she had two children to manage and in a way, considering the fact that Emma was a teenager, she did. Though she had hoped that Emma being older than Henry and at an age where most children had grown up significantly would have meant less work than handling two younger children.
Apparently, Emma's adolescence was anything but easily managed. Regina sensed that something was going to have to change in their arrangement if she expected to help Emma as promised.
Within ten minutes, Regina had arrived with Henry at the diner. She told Henry to stay in the car and scanned around the streets for Emma on her way into the diner. She saw nothing but broken windows and banged up mailboxes, however. The mess left behind told Regina that Hurricane Emma had already came and went.
The bell clanged above the diner door and signaled everyone to a new presence in the room. Only Ruby looked up from what had her preoccupied and when she saw Regina, she immediately turned and retreated to the back room.
Regina slowly made her way up to the counter and stood somewhat awkwardly in front of it. She had a feeling she wouldn't be there long. While she awaited for Ruby's return, she glanced around the diner and as she did, a few of the townspeople within it turned and acknowledged her. Most of them seemed indifferent while a few others seemed a little perturbed when they saw her. She only observed. She didn't even sneer or glare at any of the people that dared looked displeased just because she stood among them. Her only concern came from the information Granny could provide her as soon as she could talk to the gray haired woman who owned the establishment.
Ruby returned with Granny in tow behind her. She gave Regina a small smile of greeting and acknowledgment before she went back to work and went to check on one of the tables.
"Is she here," Regina asked as Granny approached the counter.
Granny shook her head.
"You just missed them. Charming and Snow took her in to the station. Cuffed her and everything, although not without a fight. I'll tell you, Emma's more of a handful than I thought," Granny replied.
Regina frowned.
"They arrested her?"
"If you'd have seen her, you probably would have too. She came at a guy with a bat. One that I'm pretty sure she stole from the sporting goods store down the block."
"Thank you again," Regina said before she turned and tried to leave.
Granny stopped her before she got too far.
"I only thought to call you because Ruby told me you came in earlier and said Emma was staying with you."
Regina turned around again, stepped up to the counter, and nodded.
"Why are you the one looking after her," Granny asked. "I thought since Snow and Charming are her parents that they'd be better suited for the job. She's not your daughter. You don't have to put up with any of this."
"She came to me," Regina explained.
"Yeah. Doesn't mean you can't just hand her over to Snow."
"I could, but Emma doesn't seem to want that. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to my place."
Granny flashed a brief smile that Regina missed due to the quickness it appeared then disappeared from the woman's face.
"Well then, if you are going to deal with Emma, she's gonna need someone with a backbone. That girl thinks she can do and say what she pleases and she'll keep acting out like she did today."
"I'm not sure it's discipline she needs," Regina said.
Granny cocked her head to the side, confused as she tried to wrap her head around what could have given Regina that impression.
Regina didn't elaborate though.
"Have a good day," Regina said before she turned and left without any interruption.
When she got back into the car, Henry waited no more than three seconds before he asked Regina about his birth mother.
"Where's Emma?"
"At the station with your grandparents," Regina answered as she shifted in her seat before she closed the car door and started the Mercedes.
"What did she do," Henry asked once they started moving.
"Apparently, your mother enjoys breaking things."
"Cool," Henry smiled and nodded.
Regina shot Henry a warning look.
"No, not cool. She destroyed city property with a presumably stolen bat."
"Really," he excitedly asked.
"You are definitely her son," Regina muttered as she looked from Henry back to the road ahead.
Henry heard that even though he figured Regina probably hadn't wanted him to and he grinned most of the way over to the Sheriff's station.
Snow and Charming had barely finished their conversation about what to do with Emma when Regina burst through the door with Henry next to her.
Emma perked up in the jail cell, though she seemed more stunned than happy to see Regina there next to the main hall with an arm slung over one of Henry's shoulders.
A memory popped into Emma's mind as she remembered a time when Regina had looked just as upset with Henry at her side like that. Her hair had been shorter and she'd worn a black pantsuit then instead of the blazer and pencil skirt she currently wore. She remembered Regina gave her permission to hang out with Henry for ten minutes just to get her to leave the station.
Then Snow and Charming disrupted the memory and emerged from the Sheriff's office.
"Regina," Snow addressed the other woman with surprise in her tone.
"What are you doing here," Charming asked as he followed Snow out and the two walked toward Regina and Henry.
"I heard about what happened. I'm here to take Emma home," Regina answered in a tight voice that should have left no room to argue.
The only problem with that was Snow and her inability to give up so easily to Regina even when everyone else knew it would be better for her if she did.
"You've proven she's not at all better off with you than us," Snow shook her head as she spoke.
Emma paid no attention to the woman who claimed to be her mother, however. She had stopped listening to anything else after she heard Regina refer to her home as Emma's home. She wanted to smile, but her doubtful conscience told her Regina only meant it as her home with Henry and the title had nothing to do with Emma. Because of that, Emma barely managed a small smile before it faded away fast. She then sat and waited to hear whatever else Regina had to say while she hoped for a way out of the cell, not too happy that she'd already been arrested a second time at eighteen.
"You could have easily made the same mistake," Regina said when Emma tuned back in to the conversation. "I thought she wanted space. I tried to stop her before she left, but she wasn't interested in staying."
"And I'm supposed to believe that you decided that with her best interest in mind," Snow asked.
"You don't have to believe it," Regina continued to argue. "But I did it because I don't want her to run from me like she's run from you."
That remark visibly stung Snow. It took the pixie haired woman a moment before she mustered up any further retort.
"Well, clearly giving her everything she seemingly wants isn't what's best for her," Snow said.
"That has yet to be determined," Regina said before she walked past Snow and headed toward Emma. "You were angry, right?"
Emma watched Regina approach and knew the question had been directed at her because Regina's gaze stayed solely on herself.
"Yeah."
"You were hurt," Regina asked another question, the space dwindled between her and the bars that kept the two of them separated.
"Yeah," Emma sadly admitted after a moment.
"Do you feel better now?"
Regina stopped right in front of the bars while Emma continued to sit on the cot. Regina placed a hand on the bars and waited for Emma's response.
"Now that you've let it out?"
Emma thought about it as she locked eyes with Regina then replied with a shrug and a nod.
"Yeah," Emma verbalized her answer.
Regina smiled and turned back to Snow and Charming.
"There. It may not have been what was best for her, but it did her some good," Regina smugly said with a grin.
Henry looked back and forth from Regina to his grandparents as the three of them argued.
"Now let her out of that cell and leave her to me," Regina calmly and somewhat casually ordered.
Snow shook her head as she took a step toward Regina and opened her mouth to argue further, but Charming gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
Charming looked over at Emma in the cell and even though she didn't look back at him, he saw it in the way she stared at Regina. The expression on Emma's face told him she'd rather be with Regina than them. The fact that she'd talked to Regina, answered her questions, when he and Snow hadn't been able to talk to Emma since Charming placed her in the backseat of the squad car convinced him of that.
"Okay," Charming agreed as he let go of Snow's arm and stepped forward as he pulled the keys off his belt loop on his way over to the cell.
Charming walked around Regina and unlocked the cell. When he pulled open the door, Emma slid off the cot and cautiously made her way toward Regina.
Emma bitterly and suspiciously eyed Charming on her way out of the cell, but when she turned her head to look at Regina once again, her features softened.
Charming stood behind Emma at that point as he locked up the recently vacated cell so he hadn't seen it, but Snow and Henry certainly had and only one of them seemed okay with it.
Snow appeared floored by the change in Emma's demeanor, though she finally had the mind not to comment out loud on it. She only crossed her arms over her chest and huffed at the sight.
"Are you okay," Regina asked once she and Emma walked side by side toward Henry.
"I will be," Emma honestly confessed.
"Are you hungry?"
"A little."
"There's dinner at the house. Eating should help sober you up a bit," Regina said when they passed Snow.
"She's drunk?!"
Snow practically shrieked, though she'd only questioned Regina's words loudly in a shrill octave. The small space the family stood in had been the culprit for making it sound more harsh and painful than the woman meant it to come out.
They all cringed at her exclaimed question.
"It's not your concern," Regina simply said as she started to guide Henry toward the station door.
"She's my daughter! Everything she does is my concern," Snow said.
"Snow, just let her handle it," Charming said as he came to stand by his wife.
"What? You're on her side now," Snow asked him.
"Try to relax. I'm sure all of this yelling and getting worked up isn't good for the baby," Charming soothingly spoke.
Snow heavily exhaled then took several short breaths in and out, a breathing exercise she remembered from being in labor with Emma.
"You're right. I'm sorry for raising my voice."
Snow had only directed the apology at Henry and Charming as she rubbed her slightly bigger than usual stomach, about two months too soon to show much protrusion of a baby in the womb.
Regina stopped Emma and Henry just by stopping to turn and look at Charming.
"Thank you," she calmly and genuinely said him.
Charming blinked through his surprise before he replied.
"You're welcome. Just...take care of her?"
Charming chanced a glance at Emma, who didn't seem too touched by his words or the obvious concern in his voice.
Regina nodded in response, unwilling to vocalize her agreement in case it only upset Emma to think she was being "handled."
Regina turned back toward Emma and Henry and the three of them left the station without another word.
Note: For those of you that have seen the winter finale "Going Home", my version of what happened after Neverland only left Rumple injured.
So, How'd I do? Don't forget to leave a review! Also, thank you so much for all the support you've given not only by following, reviewing, and adding this story to your favorites, but for offering to listen if I ever need to talk. Honestly, your responses to this story and whatever I decide to tell you about what's going on in my life have been astounding. I've never received so much feedback for any of my stories, although I think I've already said as much.
I also want to take the time to thank those of you who do review because I'm only three chapters in to this story and yet, I've already broke 100 reviews! That is awesome. Keep it up because every single one of you make my day better and give me a reason to smile.
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