Chapter 10
Henry had been asleep sitting up in a chair next to the bed where his moms were lying unconscious. Mal and Audrey had taken Tristan to get something to eat and then put her down for a nap. The sound of a doorbell awoke him from his slumber. 'Guess I'll get it since they probably have their hands full with Tris.'
When Henry answered the door, he was greeted with none other than an irate Robin.
"Henry, where is your mother? She left me at the diner and I haven't seen her since." His breathing was heavy and rapid, "Is she here?"
'God this guy is such a douche. What does mom even see in him?' Henry rolled his eyes, annoyed with all the adult drama in his life due to his mothers. "I haven't seen her since she dropped me off this morning. I thought she was with you.", Henry threw back putting Robin on the spot. Robin swallowed hard, nervous at how Henry was looking at him. "Did you upset her, Robin?", Henry pushed further. He couldn't stand the pressure that Robin put on his mother. He was tired of waiting for his mom to see him for who he really was.
"NO! No. She just heard something at the diner that upset her and then she left. I've been trying to find her ever since." Robin shifted uncomfortably in his place while standing on the front porch.
"Well, as you can see, she isn't here." Henry stood back and held out his arms to show Robin that the house was quiet.
"Yeah. I can see that. I apologize for disturbing you." 'you spoiled brat.' I guess I'll continue my search elsewhere.
"You do that, Robin." Henry then shut the door and turned around to see Mal smiling at him.
"You did good, Kid." She walked up and wrapped an arm around Henry's shoulder. "I'm proud of you."
Henry just blushed and followed Mal to the kitchen to get a bite to eat with his little sister.
Regina gradually regained consciousness again. Earlier, she had heard Tristan play the violin, but the music soothed her back into rest. She wasn't able to speak or open her eyes at that point. Now she was beginning to move her fingers and squint at the light entering the bedroom window between the slits in the curtains. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked around to get her bearings and saw Emma lying next to her in a prone position, her back covered in bandages.
With her eyes filling with tears, 'I did that to her', Regina pushed herself up to a sitting position. She was still a little dizzy from the head trauma so she grabbed the nearby nightstand for additional stability. Turning more towards Emma, Regina raised her hands and held them over Emma's back where she began pouring healing magic into the blonde. 'That blast I sent causes wounds to reopen themselves when the day begins again. I must stop this.' The angry looking wounds began healing and the bandages fell from Emma's skin when they were no longer needed.
The bedroom door then opened and Henry walked in with a sandwich in his mouth, his plate filled with chips in his hands. He stopped midstride, staring at his mothers while the entire sandwich still hung from his lips. "YourououroruWwouowuow"
Regina rolled her eyes, "Would you mind repeating that without the half-masticated food in your mouth?"
Henry shuffled over to his chair to put the plate and sandwich down, "You're awake!"
"I am. How did I get here?" Regina withdrew her hands from Emma once the burns were healed and turned to face her son.
"Emma blocked your attack when it was about to hit Tris and then she fell unconscious. Tris got angry and apparently has magic which she used to throw you across the yard." He winced while recapping the events.
Regina swallowed hard, "That was True Love magic, Henry. You know what that means? Killian is Emma's True Love."
Henry was so fed up with the drama and finally slammed his hands on the chair and grabbed his plate with his sandwich and chips. "If you had just stayed when Ma asked you to this morning then we wouldn't be here right now!"
Regina had a confused look on her face, but didn't miss his tone, "Watch your mouth, young man. I won't have you speaking to me that way."
Henry rolled his eyes and began to walk out of the bedroom, but right before he exited, he turned around, "You know that letter from Grandpa you were so curious about? It proves that Tristan is your daughter. Yeah. That's right. You are Ma's True Love. Now fix this and figure it out!" He then walked out and slammed the bedroom door leaving Regina with her jaw to the floor.
The sheets began to stir next to Regina and when she looked towards Emma, she saw the blonde bury her face in the pillow and grumble out something that sounded like 'Dammit Henry'.
Regina was still speechless and watched Emma return to the world of the living slowly. She sat up and tested her extremities out. Next she stretched her arms and reached behind herself to feel her back. "That's strange. I've never healed that quickly before. It usually takes a full night." Emma continued to check herself over while ignoring Regina. Once assured that she was completely healed, Emma hopped out of bed and skipped into her walk-in closet for a change of clothes. After a few minutes, she returned out of the closet and then used the bathroom. Finally,she stepped back out to put on her shoes. All the while, Regina was watching her and waiting for her to comment on what Henry had just said.
"She's mine?", Regina asked softly.
Emma didn't look at her, but answered her question while brushing out her hair. "Apparently."
Regina slid off the bed and stood up, testing her balance before walking over to Emma who sat in front of her mirror pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "How?"
With a heavy sigh, Emma closed her eyes and put the hair brush down, "I was pregnant when I kissed you goodbye that night. We shared True Love's kiss which changed the DNA of the child for survival of the True Love. That's why she looks so much like you. She's yours. Ours." Emma then grabbed her mascara to apply so that she could continue to avoid looking at Regina. "It's all in Rumple's magical journal over there if you want proof."
Regina looked at the opened book and then turned back to Emma shaking her head, "And she's like…..you. A….."
Emma slammed her mascara on the dresser, "A monster? Yeah. She's just like me." Emma stood up and went to look for her jacket in the closet.
"No! I didn't mean it like that. I just meant….."
"Save it, Regina. You accused me of turning her." Emma choked up at that. It was still such a sensitive topic for her. She carried so much guilt for how Tristan turned out. "You thought so little of me.", she said quietly, almost inaudible.
With apologetic eyes, Regina put her hand on Emma's arm, "I'm so sorry, Emma. I wasn't thinking. I get so protective of children and didn't think before I spoke. I know you wouldn't do something like that. You aren't that kind of person."
"You're right, I'm not. She was turned when I was attacked while pregnant with her. If it wasn't for Mal, we'd both be dead." Emma slid her jacket on and finally stared at Regina allowing her to process the news.
"Mal." Regina stared into space and then continued, "Are you two happy? Does she make you happy?"
"She's my best friend. She's my family." A protective tone came from Emma as if challenging Regina to dispute her claims.
Regina tried to smile, but the pain was too great. "I'm glad that you have someone that makes you happy, Emma. You deserve your happily ever after." She looked at the floor and Emma noticed the small droplets falling from her face and onto the carpet.
"My happily ever after? What are you talking about?
Regina looked up at Emma confused at the question, "She's your girlfriend, isn't she?"
Emma then caught up with what Regina was implying and began to laugh out loud.
"What's so funny?" Regina was annoyed not getting the joke.
"Mal and I dated for a while, but we decided that we were best suited as friends. Now she's more like a sister to me and an aunt to Tristan."
Regina nodded, "Emma, we need to talk about everything. I have so many questions and I'm so confused." Emma sighed. She knew they needed to clear the air. She still wasn't ready to share everything with Regina and she knew Regina definitely wasn't ready to hear it all, but she had a right to know about Tristan.
"Why don't we get together in about 3 hours? We can take Tris to the park and get her some ice cream while we chat. I can then properly introduce you two."
Regina's face brightened at the idea and her smile could light up a room. She wiped the stray tears from her cheeks, "I'd love that, Emma. Thank you." She hugged Emma which took the blonde by surprise and caused her body to stiffen. Regina quickly retracted, "I'm sorry, I'm just so excited. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Regina grabbed her own arm and looked thoroughly embarrassed with herself. It definitely lightened the atmosphere and Emma visibly relaxed.
"It's fine. I'll meet you at the park by the lake at….3?"
"Perfect! I'll bring some bread slices so Tristan can feed the ducks. If that's alright with you, of course." Regina didn't want to step on Emma's toes when it came to Tristan.
"That sounds wonderful, Regina. We will see you then."
Regina smiled brightly and then disappeared in her signature purple smoke leaving Emma to gather her thoughts. She looked across the room at the still unopened letters that Rumple had left for her. "How many more landmines am I going to find in them?" She shook her head and walked out of the room to join her family downstairs.
Emma quietly walked downstairs and watched her family at the table eating their sandwiches. Henry was talking about how much he benched the other day while Audrey sat and listened to him captivated by how much he'd grown. She was feeling his bicep while he flexed and showed off. Mal was talking to Tristan while they ate their chips and gave each chip a name.
"Which chip is Mommy?", Mal asked.
Tristan concentrated to make sure and choose the perfect one and then grabbed the largest on her plate, "This one!", Then she took a huge bite.
"Wow! So, if that was Mommy, which one is Henry?", Mal kept playing the game.
Tristan looked at her chips and found a funny shaped one and chose that to show Mal. Emma just chuckled at how adorable the two were. Mal was amazing with her. She finally decided to announce her presence.
"Got room for one more?"
Every turned around and flew out of their chairs to hug Emma.
"Mommy!" Tristan ran into Emma's arms as Emma hoisted her up and kissed her on her cheek. "Hey, Stinkerbelle! Were you good while I was sleeping?" Tristan nodded and she looked over at Mal and then back to her mother. "Thank you so much for the beautiful music you played for me, Sweetie. It really helped me feel better."
Tristan blushed and smiled brightly as she hugged her mother and buried her face in Emma's neck. Emma then turned to Henry. "Hey, Kid. Thank you for getting me upstairs. I knew it had to be you."
Henry flexed to show off and then hugged his biological mother. "I'm so glad you're ok, Ma. Mom's magic really did heal you quickly."
Emma stepped back looking shocked, "Your Mom healed me?"
"Well, yeah. How do you think you healed so quickly?" Henry studied her.
"Oh! I just figured it was because I was….different.", Emma winced.
Henry gently smiled in return, "No, it was Mom. I saw her finishing up when I came back to check on you."
"Yeah. Thanks a lot, by the way. I heard your little outburst.", Emma rolled her eyes and Mal and Audrey looked confused. Emma turned to them, "He told Regina about Tris!"
The ladies both turned to glare at Henry who refused to apologize, "What? It needed to come out and my Moms keep making things far more complicated than they really need to be. I broke the ice. Now it's up to them."
Both ladies then nodded and looked back at Emma for a retort, but she was speechless. She could tell they completely agreed with Henry's assessment. Emma swallowed and took a deep breath, "Fine! You're right. I agreed to meet Regina in the park with Tris at 3 to talk."
This got Tristan's attention, "The park? We're going to the park?"
"After your nap, Sweetheart.", Emma reminded. She then put Tristan down so that she could go back to the table and finish her lunch.
Mal and Audrey were next in the hugs. "You gave us a scare, Hon.", Audrey began.
Mal then chimed in, "Thank the Gods you're alright. Your little girl showed us a bit of her magic when she attacked Regina."
"What?! She attacked Regina?!", Emma looked back and forth between the ladies and then to Henry who nodded his head in confirmation.
"Ma, she used her magic to throw Mom across the yard and into the side of the house, knocking her out."
Emma looked at her daughter while she continued to finish her sandwich and chips. "Son of a bitch!"
Tristan picked up on the familiar words and responded, "Snow White!"
This confused Emma. "What about Snow White, Sweetie?"
Tristan innocently turned around, "Snow White is a bitch!"
"Mal!", Emma knew immediately whose fault this was and Henry and Audrey both stared at Mal silently scolding her.
Mal just rolled her eyes, "What? It's true!"
Regina had poofed back to her house to shower and freshen up. Her head was still sore so she first went and grabbed a bag of frozen peas to put on the back of her head. She wasn't able to heal herself as she couldn't see what she was doing on the back of her head. She went to her bedroom and sat on the chaise lounge across from her bed, leaning her head back onto the frozen bag of peas and closing her eyes. 'I have a daughter. I have a daughter with Emma. Emma is my True Love.' Happy tears ran down her cheeks as a smile began to spread across her face.
The front door opened and heavy footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Robin entered the bedroom looking for something and found Regina on the chaise. "Darling! There you are!" He ran over to Regina. "What happened to your head? Are you alright?"
Regina had tensed when she heard him walking up the stairs, knowing who the heavy footsteps belonged to. She quickly wiped her tears away and tried to relax to no avail.
"I'm fine, Robin. It was just a little accident. I slipped on some steps and hit the back of my head. I guess the news of Maleficent had me distracted." Regina sat up slowly and then put her legs down on the carpet and slid off her heals, "I'm going to take a shower. I feel a little grungy after falling. I can make us a little something to eat afterwards."
"How about we shower together?" Robin put his hand on her arm as his eyes dilated with a lecherous look on his face.
The color drained from Regina's face. She had to think fast, "I'm afraid I'm not feeling well, Robin. My head is still hurting so I'd like to take a shower alone. I'm guessing I should avoid extreme exertion until I get my head checked.", she smiled apologetically.
Robin knew it was a weak excuse, but he didn't want to call her a liar and make things any worse between them. "That's alright, Darling. I know! We can spend the afternoon together and I can take care of you."
Regina was feeling so guilty. She knew he loved her and was truly trying to be her knight in shining armor. She just didn't love him that way. She cared for him, but she never developed that special bond. 'How could fairy dust be wrong? Why did it choose Robin when Emma is my True Love?' She continued to try and work through a solution, but then remembered Robin was waiting for her answer.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Robin. I promised Emma that I'd meet her this afternoon at the park with Tristan to catch up and feed the ducks. Perhaps another time?" She then quickly walked to her closet and picked out a change of clothes and hurried into the bathroom where she locked the door and started the shower.
Robin's eyes narrowed at the closed door, 'she never locks the door.' Anger brewed as Robin looked to the corner of the bedroom where his quiver stood on the floor. The silver tip of the arrows catching the sunlight just right causing him to squint his eyes. He stormed over and grabbed the quiver. Then he quickly went downstairs and grabbed his bow from the hall closet and left with a mission on his mind.
Two hours later, Emma was washing dishes and picking up toys while Tristan continued to nap. She was nervous and needed to decompress. She needed a piano.
"Hey, Aud. Do you mind if I go bang on the piano for a bit before I leave with Tris? I won't be very long. I'm just so anxious about meeting Regina. I need to do something. You can call me if you need me." She hated always leaning on Audrey lately. Emma was thought of herself as always being the tough one.
"Of course, you can go. No problem. Tris is so easy anyway. Mal and I have got it covered."
Mal smiled at Audrey apologetically, "Actually, I was hoping I could go out for a little while and get familiar with this town. I'm getting a little bit of cabin fever here."
Emma and Audrey just chuckled.
"Understandable, Mal. Don't worry. I can stay with Audrey and you can go on out."
"Don't be ridiculous, Em! I'm a big girl. Hell, I took care of you when you were younger didn't I?" Audrey winked at the blonde who blushed thinking about how difficult she was back then.
"Alright. I guess we'll both head out then. Thank you so much for this Audrey." Emma hugged her friend tight and then disappeared in a puff of white magic.
Mal smiled at Audrey and then disappeared in her lilac magic leaving Audrey alone. Audrey just shook her head, "I'll never get used to that."
Emma reappeared in the clock tower and quickly sat down at the piano and stretched her fingers. She knew exactly what she wanted to play; Beethoven's Sonata No.8 in C minor, Opus 13 Pathetique. She quickly began the first movement; Grave.
Below, passersby stopped and quickly closed their eyes as their 'ghost' serenaded them. Their bodies began to sway to the music. Regina happened to be walking by having just come from the store to buy bread for the ducks. She heard the music and immediately stopped to listen. 'The unorthodox mixture of notes moves from aggressive to graceful. The dramatic Allegro has her heart pumping faster waiting for the final cadence. When it's over, her body is almost shaking from the experience, but she's not given time to think as the second movement of the Sonata begins; The Adagio.
The slow beginning helps to calm her heart rate. The intensity in which it is played causes tears to become trapped in Regina's closed eyes. Her mind and body are overcome with a peacefulness. What began as a stressful composition had wandered into a calm melody. 'This person is nervous, but trying to find serenity.'
As the third movement begins, The Rondo: Allegro, the message became torn. Between the uplifting harmonies mixed with the dramatic crescendos resembling the first movement, Regina's body and mind battled one another. The body responded more to the aggressive hints in the movement while her mind tried to focus on the relaxing flows of softer notes. Tears spilled from the still closed eyes as her arms wrapped around herself while she swayed. A small smile played on her lips as her body warmed to the crisp notes coming from the above. 'I must find out who this ghost is. The effect their talent has on me is overwhelming.'
When the song ended, Regina opened her eyes and looked up at the clocktower. She knew if she magicked herself up there, she'd find it empty, but she had to try. When she transported herself next to the piano, the room was already empty. She looked around the room knowing the ghost wouldn't have left any clues, but still, she willed them to show themselves. Next, Regina sat at the piano and pressed a key. She could still faintly pick up hints of citrus and floral scents in the air. Checking her watch, she realized she better get going if she wanted to be on time meeting Emma and their daughter so she quickly left using her magic.
Maleficent walked into the diner after walking down mainstreet. "Hey, Gorgeous! Just have a seat anywhere and I'll be with you in a minute." Mal stared at the scantly clad waitress who was winking at her and so Mal slyly grinned back at her and chose to sit at a booth in the back.
While looking at the menu, Mal noticed the waitress rubbing a brunette woman's back as she sat at the counter looking serious. The waitress then said something to her and walked towards Mal.
"Sorry for the wait, Hon. What can I get ya?"
Mal allowed her eyes to move up and down the sexy waitress' body. She didn't care that she was being obvious.
"My name is Red, but I also go by Ruby." She gave Mal a wolfish grin. "And you are?"
Maleficent smiled, "I'm Maleficent, but you can call me Mal." She held out her hand which Ruby took and kissed the top of. Mal looked over Ruby's shoulder, "I hope I'm not distracting you from your woman." Mal's eyes then wandered back to Ruby.
While confused at first, Ruby quickly caught on, "That's Belle. Her True Love just recently died so I've been helping her out. I lost my True Love many years ago so I know what she's going through." Ruby became serious and looked down at her feet.
Mal cleared her throat, "I lost my True Love a longtime ago as well. Perhaps I could….help?"
Ruby looked up at Mal and saw the devious grin on her face. That caused Ruby to smile and then she winked at Mal, "Perhaps you could…help."
Both women stared at each other while their hands were still joined. Ruby finally broke out of the trance, "What can I get you? Besides Belle and myself?"
Mal's smile spread wide, "How about a slice of pecan pie, a Coke and your phone numbers?"