Chapter Four
When Regina awoke from her nap, Emma had moved herself so her head was resting on Regina's chest. She thought she was sleeping at first, but then she realized her little hand was idly playing with the edge of the silk bed sheet. Regina put her hand on Emma's back, and Emma turned to look at her. Her eyes were red, and Regina could see she had been crying, though she wasn't anymore.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Regina asked, brushing Emma's hair back from her face.
"I had a bad dream, and you didn't wake up," Emma said, sniffing.
Inwardly, Regina cringed. She knew she was exhausted, but she couldn't believe that she had actually been so tired as to have slept through a child crying beside her. "Baby, I'm sorry," she said. "Next time, if I don't hear you, you shake me until I wake up, okay?"
Emma nodded. "I wanted to listen to your heart, to make sure you were real," Emma said, putting her head back down on Regina's chest.
"Why wouldn't I be real?" Regina asked.
"Because in my dream, I was in a group home. There were lots of kids and I had to share a room with lots of girls and when I had a nightmare, nobody was there, just other kids. Lots of them were crying, too. But no one ever came to help them. When I woke up, I thought that was real, and you were a dream."
"I promise you I'm real, Emma," Regina reassured her.
"Okay," Emma said, not moving her ear from its place above Regina's heart.
"Emma, when you're awake, you remember your dreams. When you're dreaming, do you remember me?"
"No," Emma said, softly.
Regina sighed. Really, she knew there was no way she possibly could remember her in those dreams, since when those events actually happened in Emma's childhood, she hadn't known Regina. It hurt her heart that no matter what she did to reassure Emma in her waking hours, she couldn't save her from the onslaught of sad and lonely childhood memories that were coming at her every time she fell asleep.
"What are we gonna do today, Gina?" Emma asked, suddenly sitting up. Regina forgot how resilient children could be.
"Well, right now we're going to have lunch," Regina said, looking at the clock. They had really slept through lunch, so it was well past time to feed Emma.
"Then what?" Emma asked, bouncing on her knees on the bed.
"Then… I guess we'll see," Regina replied. It had been so long since she had a small child in her house, she wasn't really sure what they should do next.
Henry was already waiting for them downstairs when Emma and Regina finally made their way down. After lunch, Regina checked her phone and had a missed voicemail from David. Her trepidation was rising as she called him back.
"I just got your message," Regina said, once David had answered.
"Hey, yeah… I just talked to Blue," David started. Regina felt a lump forming in her throat. She already know where this was headed. "She, um, she has a theory on who the little lost girl might be."
"Okay," Regina said, swallowing hard, "who?"
"Regina, this is going to sound crazy, but… she thinks it's Emma."
Regina felt like she had just been punched in the stomach. She tried to tell herself it was ridiculous to feel this way – that she was way too attached to this child, for how short a time she had had her – but she couldn't help it. Little Emma had grown on her, and she didn't want to let her go.
"How is that possible?" Regina asked.
"Blue said something about a sort of magical reincarnation… I don't know, Regina, I know it sounds nuts, but there's really only one way to know for sure. You've got to bring her down to the hospital. They're going to do a cheek swab and compare her DNA to mine."
"Yours and Snows?" Regina asked.
"I haven't told her yet… she took Emma's death hard. I don't want to get her hopes up. You probably shouldn't tell Henry, either."
"Right," Regina replied. She wasn't about to tell him she and Henry both already suspected this. She had thought, in the least, that if she was right, she could have told him herself and avoided the situation where he demanded to know how long she had known. Now she couldn't tell him that the idea had ever crossed her mind of who this child really was.
After she got off the phone, Regina headed back into the other room. Emma was distracted, playing on the floor, so Regina sat down with Henry to tell him everything David had just said.
"We shouldn't tell him that we knew," Henry said, when she had finished.
"Well, Henry, we didn't really know, and we don't know, still. Either way, it's not fair for me to ask you to lie to your grandfather," Regina said.
"You're not asking me, I'm offering. If she really is her, you only had her for two days. It's not worth making them mad at you over not telling him, you know?" Henry replied.
Regina nodded. "Okay. Do you want to come with us to the hospital? David said Dr. Whale will be ready for us in twenty minutes."
Henry nodded. Regina got up and sat down on the floor next to Emma.
"Emma, Sweetheart, we need to go out for a little while," Regina said, not sure exactly how she was going to explain what was about to happen.
"Where are we going?" Emma asked, looking hopeful that it would be someplace fun.
"We need to go see a doctor, at the hospital."
"Are you sick?" Emma asked.
"No, Sweetheart," Regina assured her.
"Am I sick?" Emma asked, her face starting to look panicked.
"No, Sweetheart, no one is sick. They are just going to take a swab, like a Q-tip, and put it inside your cheek. It's going to help us find your parents," Regina tried to explain, knowing that there was no way this child knew what DNA was.
"How will that help?"
"Well, they can run a test on the swab, and compare it to someone else's. If they match, then those people are your parents," Regina said, hoping that explanation would be good enough, but Emma still looked worried.
"Emma," Henry said, coming to join them on the floor, "you know me and my mom wouldn't let anyone hurt you, right?"
Emma nodded.
"So you can trust us. We'll both go with you, and it will be over before you know it," Henry assured her.
"Can we get ice cream after?" Emma asked, looking hopefully at Regina.
"Yes, absolutely," Regina agreed.
The trip to the hospital was a quiet one. Regina was lost in thought, wondering exactly how they would handle the situation once the test inevitably came back that this child was indeed a reincarnated Emma Swan. She knew that the Charmings would obviously want her back, and she also knew she had no right to interfere with that, but Henry needed to be with Emma as well. She wasn't about to let Henry move back in with the Charmings, when she had essentially just gotten him back, and he was her son. On top of that, she wasn't sure how Emma was going to react to all of this.
She would never blame the adult Emma for what she did to save everyone, but this situation was a mess, and she knew it was about to get a whole lot messier.
Emma clung nervously to Regina's hand as they entered the hospital. David was there, waiting for them, and looked a little surprised to see Henry.
"You told him?" David asked, in a hushed voice.
"Yes," Regina nodded. "Is Whale ready?" She wasn't in the mood for small talk. She just wanted to get this over with.
David nodded, and Henry and Regina followed him into Whale's office, Emma still clinging tightly, to Regina's hand. When they got inside, Emma ducked behind Regina's legs. Apparently the shy little girl had returned to replace the rambunctious, chatty one from this morning.
"Hello there," Dr. Whale said, kneeling down in front of Emma. "I'm Dr. Whale. I'm not going to hurt you, but I need you to open your mouth. Can you do that for me?"
Emma pursed her lips closed and shook her head.
"Maybe Grandpa should go first," Henry suggested.
"Good idea," Whale said, standing again. Regina scooped Emma up in her arms, so she could watch as Whale swabbed David's cheek.
"See, Little One. It won't hurt and it only takes a second," Regina told her.
"That's right," Whale said, as he slid the swab from David's cheek into a protective sleeve and quickly labelled it, before grabbing a fresh one for Emma. "Now it's your turn."
"I don't want to!" Emma cried, wrapping her arms around Regina's neck and burying her face. "I don't want to find my parents! I want to stay with you!"
Regina could feel the tears burning at the corners of her eyes, but she knew she couldn't cry now – not in front of Dr. Whale and certainly not in front of David.
"Little One," Regina started, careful not to use Emma's name in front of David, lest he realize that she had already figured this out before, "remember what I told you: I'll still be your friend, even after we find your parents. You'll always have me, no matter what, okay?"
Regina pretended not to notice the odd look David was giving her right now. She didn't particularly care about his opinion on her promise to Emma. She intended to keep it with or without his consent.
Emma lifted her head slowly. "You promise?"
"Of course," Regina smiled.
Emma looked over at Dr. Whale, and after a few more moments of hesitation, she opened her mouth and allowed him to take the cheek swab.
"See? All done," Regina smiled. Emma just stared back at her, a solemn look in her eyes.
"How long will that take?" David asked.
"I'll put a rush on it," Dr. Whale informed him, "we should know within twenty four hours."
Twenty four hours, Regina thought to herself, as she carried Emma out of the building and back out to the car. In twenty four hours she might well have to pass Emma off to the Charmings, which was the last thing in the world she wanted to do right now.
"Why did the doctor swab the Sherriff's cheek?" Emma asked, as Regina put her in the carseat.
"Hmm?" Regina asked. She had heard her, but she wasn't quite sure what to say. It hadn't occurred to her until now that perhaps David shouldn't have had his cheek swabbed in front of Emma.
"The doctor swabbed the Sherriff's cheek," Emma replied, "do they think he's my daddy?"
"They don't know, yet, Emma. We'll know tomorrow," Regina told her.
"They should have done your cheek," Emma stated.
"I'm not your mommy, Emma."
"I know. But I want you to be. I want to stay with you."
Regina gave Emma a sad smile, but she didn't say a word. How could she possibly tell a four-year-old that she wished she could stay with her, too, when she knew in her heart that she couldn't. It was bad enough that she knew her own heart was about to break, she didn't need Emma's to, as well.
"Gina, aren't we gonna get ice cream?" Emma's little voice cried out when Regina drove past the ice cream parlour.
"Yes, darling, but not there," Regina replied. The sign had been fixed, but she had a feeling the shop owner would be less than thrilled if they returned so soon, considering most of the town still believed that it was Regina who had tried to drop the sign on Blue's head. She didn't care that they thought it, but she didn't want to make an awkward experience for Emma.
Regina kept driving until they reached Granny's diner. They didn't have as many flavours there, but Regina knew she could at least get a strawberry sundae or a milkshake for the little girl.
Inside, they grabbed a booth and gave their orders. The bell on the door chimed as Ruby brought over the sundaes. Henry waved at whoever had just walked in, and Regina turned to see Snow in the doorway.
"Hey Henry!" She said, as she walked up to the booth, her eyes on Emma. "Who do we have here?"
Emma stared up at her, but didn't say a word. Regina knew Snow knew about the little lost girl, and she silently hoped that she would take a hint from Emma's silence and carry on.
But of course she couldn't be so lucky.
"My name is Mary Margaret," Snow said, sitting beside Emma with a big smile on her face. Regina shifted nervously in her seat, dreading what was coming next.
"I'm Emma," Emma replied. Snow's eyes darted to Regina, questioningly. When Regina didn't offer any answers - not that she really had any to give - Snow turned back to Emma.
"My daughter's name is Emma," she said. In the months following Emma's death, she had never stopped referring to her in the present tense. Regina wondered if that was another form of denial, but she never asked. She had never experienced the death of her child, so she didn't feel it was her place to step in.
"Really? Can I meet her?" Emma's eyes lit up.
"Um... She's not here right now," Snow said tentively, "but I think she would like you. You're pretty like her with that blonde hair... and those eyes..."
"You're Snow White," Emma said suddenly, taking everyone by surprise.
"How did you know?" Snow asked, cocking her head to one side.
"Henry's book... your hair is different but you have the same eyes," Emma shrugged, as if it should have been obvious.
Regina watched Snow's face carefully as she studied Emma's eyes. In that moment, she knew Snow knew. David wanted to keep it between them until they knew for sure, but Regina knew all too well what it felt like to look at your own child, and have them not know who you were. She couldn't do that to Snow... not again.
"We need to talk," she said, standing. "Henry, keep an eye on Emma for a minute."
Snow followed Regina to the back of the diner - the same place Emma and Regina had spoken when she had brought Henry back to Storybrooke after their year in New York. This felt the same to her, and yet vastly different.
"It's her," Snow said, before Regina could speak. It sounded like an accusation, and in spite of herself, Regina felt her defenses going up.
"We're not sure," she started.
"We?" Snow cut in, her voice sounding panicked.
"Listen, I will explain everything... well, I can't really explain anything, but I'll try," Regina said with a sigh. Regina filled Snow in on what she knew - the well, the fairies, Emma's memories coming back in her sleep, her odd conversation with Blue, and finally on the pending paternity test.
"David knew?" Snow asked.
"Snow... he didn't want to tell you until he knew for sure. He didn't want to get your hopes up for nothing," Regina tried to assure her. It still felt odd to her whenever she played the Charmings' cheerleader, but their relationship had evolved enough to allow her to do it without sounding fake.
"It's not for nothing! Look at her eyes, that's her," Snow insisted.
"I know," Regina agreed, "but I have no idea how... reincarnation is impossible. We all saw her die, Snow." Regina regretted her words when she saw Snow flinch.
"Everything that happens in Storybrooke is impossible," Snow replied. "Magic can't bring someone back from the dead, so explain Maleficent? Or Zelena?"
"Neither of them actually died."
"Okay, well... time travel was also supposed to be impossible."
"I know, Snow, I... I'm not trying to say it's not her I'm just... none of this makes sense," Regina admitted.
"So what now?" Snow asked.
"Now.. we wait, I guess," Regina shrugged. "Dr. Whale said we'll know within twenty-four hours."
"And in the meantime?"
"In the meantime we keep things as they are," said Regina.
"She's my daughter," Snow pointed out.
"I understand that, but she doesn't know you."
"She barely knows you," Snow retorted.
"Henry found her," Regina reminded her, "she came back to him. He needs her, and she needs me."
"She needs her mother," Snow countered.
Regina knew she had no grounds to try to keep Emma long term, but she was determined to keep her at least until they knew for sure, and deal with the inevitable once it was confirmed.
"We'll need to figure out a way to work this out," she sighed, "but tonight, she stays with me and Henry."
"Regina, there is nothing to work out here. When the DNA results are back, I will be taking my daughter. I won't stop Henry from seeing her whenever he wants, but Regina, I missed my chance to raise her the first time. I will not give that up again."
"Mom!" Regina heard Henry cry out from the front of the diner. She turned back around the corner to see the tables all shaking and the light bulbs blowing out one at a time. Emma was crouched down in her chair covering her eyes, ans Blue was standing in the doorway of the diner.
"Emma!" Regina called out, running over and scooping her up in her arms, with Snow close behind her.
Regina dark eyes snapped up at Blue as she held the trembling child close to her. "What the hell did you say to her?" Regina hissed at the fairy.
"Nothing, your Majesty," Blue replied, her eyes darting back and forth between Emma and Snow.
"You're upsetting her, and you need to leave," Regina said flatly.
Blue leaned in closer. "If I were you, I would worry about getting her magic under control before it's too late."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Blue just smirked, and turned to leave the diner without another word. When she was gone, Regina squeezed Emma tightly.
"It's okay, Baby, she's gone now," Regina assured her, stroking her hair.
"You... said... I... wouldn't... have to... see her!" Emma choked out between sobs.
"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't expect her to come here," Regina said.
The magical earthquake calmed down as Emma did. Regina looked around. There weren't many people in the diner, but the few that were there were staring. Regina waved her hand and used her magic to fix the disaster Emma had just caused.
"She has magic," Snow said, finally.
"And you have a knack for stating the obvious," Regina snapped at her.
For her part, Snow chose to disregard Regina's comment. "What did Blue mean, before it's too late?"
"How should I know? When does Blue ever tell me anything other than a vague cryptic threat?"
"We'll have to figure something out," Snow said, softly.
"What?" Regina raised an eyebrow in surprise, as she continued to rock Emma in her arms.
"She needs to be with me, but... I can't teach her magic. We'll need to work something out."
Regina nodded. "We'll talk when we get the results, okay? But I need to get her home, now."
Snow nodded. "We'll be in touch."
Henry said goodbye to his grandmother and got up to follow Regina out of the diner. Regina sighed as they approached the car, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do now.
Emma lifted her head from Regina's shoulder and looked around as they stepped outside.
"The Blue Fairy is gone, Honey, I promise," Regina assured her as she carried her over to the car, Henry following close behind.
"Why did she come here?" Emma asked, still sniffling from the recent tears.
"I don't know, Sweetheart, but she lives in Storybrooke and you're probably going to see her from time to time. I can't prevent that, but I promise you, she's never going to hurt you, okay?"
Emma blinked at Regina a few times as Regina strapped her into her car seat. Her lip quivered as she spoke again. "What if she tells you to send me away?"
"Well, I wouldn't listen to her."
"What if she told you there was something wrong with me?"
"Nothing is wrong with you, Emma."
"Something is!" Emma insisted, "the fairies knew it, and it made them scared of me!"
"Even if something is wrong, I still wouldn't send you away. Storybrooke is your real home, Emma. It's where you belong. And whether you're with me, or with your parents, you will be in Storybrooke, and no one is ever going to send you away."
Emma nodded slowly, and looked down at her feet. Her lip was still quivering.
"Is something else bothering you, Emma?" Regina asked, sliding into the backseat next to her. Henry turned back from his place in the passenger seat, and looked at Emma, worried.
"That man… the Sheriff… he's my daddy, isn't he? I'm gonna have to go live with him, aren't I?" Emma asked, without looking up.
Regina breathed a heavy sigh. "We'll know for sure tomorrow, Emma," she started, "but yes, there is a very good chance that he is your daddy. And the lady you met today, Mary Margaret, she is probably your mommy."
"Snow White?" Emma asked, looking up at Regina, confused.
"Yes."
"But Snow White isn't real… she's just a cartoon."
"The cartoon isn't real, but Snow White is," Regina said. She wasn't sure exactly how to explain to a child who had two distinct sets of memories – one that she was forming now, and one that she was slowly remembering, wherein fairy tales were just stories – that what was true in one, wasn't in another.
"She has two names? Snow White and Mary something?" Emma asked.
"Yes, like you have two names. You had one in the Enchanted Forest and a different one here."
"And do I have to go live with her?" Emma asked, quieter this time. It was the second time she asked, and Regina knew she couldn't just avoid the question. She also knew she certainly couldn't wait until the Charmings inevitably came to pick her up to drop that bombshell, either.
"They will probably want you to live with them, yes. But that doesn't mean you won't get to see me all the time still, okay?"
"But I want to stay with you forever!" Emma cried.
Regina looked up at Henry for a moment, and she saw the troubled look in his eyes. She wasn't sure who he was more worried about at that moment, Emma or herself. Maybe both of them, equally.
"I know you do, Sweetheart, but it's not up to you or me," Regina said, finally. "But tonight you will be with me, so maybe we can do something fun to take our minds off of everything, okay?"
"Okay," Emma nodded. Regina gave her a reassuring smile, and then got into the driver's seat to head back to the house.
"Maybe we can play lost and found?" Emma suggested, as they drove.
"Lost and found? What's that?" Regina asked.
"Do you mean hide and seek?" Henry asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah! Hide and seek! I'm a good hider," Emma grinned.
"I bet," Henry smirked, "but I know that house much better than you. I bet I find you every time!"
"I bet you a million dollars you never find me!" Emma challenged, that devilish look in her eyes again.
Emma took off like a rocket toward the house the second Regina had her out of the car seat. "I'm hiding first!" she declared as she ran inside and bounded up the stairs.
"She's not even gonna wait for me to start counting," Henry laughed.
"She's four," Regina reminded him, "the finer points of the rules are probably lost on her."
"I think she went into my room," Henry said, glancing up the stairs.
"Oh, don't cheat! She's little, give her a break," Regina scolded him, lightheartedly.
"Are you gonna play?" Henry asked.
Regina rolled her eyes, and smiled. "No, this one's all you. I'm going to get started on dinner. I trust you can keep Emma entertained until then?"
"I'll try," Henry agreed, before taking a small pause. His face took on a more serious look before he continued. "Mom, what do you think Blue meant, about getting her magic under control before it's too late?"
"I honestly don't know, Henry. I'm going to ask your grandparents to talk to her, since she's not going to tell me anything. She would probably love it if Emma burned the house down," Regina sighed.
"You don't think she could actually burn the house down?" Henry asked, his eyes widening.
"No, of course not. I could stop it."
"But what if she's at Grandma and Grandpa's and she get scared? That's when her magic gets out of control, and they can't stop it."
"Henry, everything will be fine. I will teach her how to control it," Regina insisted.
"By tomorrow?"
"Go play with Emma. Stop worrying," Regina said, patting him lightly on the shoulder before heading to the kitchen.
Truthfully, she was worried about what Blue had meant by that comment. And she was worried about Emma's magic and the damage she could do at the Charming loft if she got upset or scared. And she was extremely worried that Emma's magic seemed to be getting stronger by the day and there was no way she would have it under control by tomorrow.
But she also knew what she had said to Emma was true: Emma's living arrangements weren't under her control. If the Charmings wanted her back tomorrow, there was nothing she could do, other than to appeal to their common sense and try to convince them that her home was the safest place for Emma at the moment.
Henry watched his mother for a few seconds as she started getting the ingredients ready for dinner. He considered following her into the kitchen, but decided against it. She looked like she needed to think, and therefore she needed to not be disturbed. He turned his focus back on Emma.
"Ready or not, here I come!" he yelled as he started up the stairs. He knew Emma was still in his room, but he made a point of pretending he didn't have a clue, as he checked the guest bedroom first, and then the upstairs bathroom.
"Wow, Emma, you really are a good hider!" he said, purposely loud so she would hear it. He heard a small giggle coming from his closet as he entered the room, but pretended not to notice. The closet door was slightly open, allowing some light in, and he could see Emma's little foot.
"Maybe you're under the bed!" he declared, making an over exaggerated sigh when she wasn't there. "Nope, not under the bed. Hmm, maybe you're in a different room!"
He heard Emma's stifled giggling some more, and the sound of something softly falling. He figured she shifted and knocked the extra blankets off the shelf.
"Maybe behind the dresser!" he announced. This time there was no giggling. He turned back to the closet, confused. "Or the closet!" he said, coming closer and pulling the door open.
"Found you!" he exclaimed, when he found Emma half buried under a pile of blankets that she had knocked down. She looked up at him with wide, confused eyes.
"Emma, what is it?" he asked, sitting down on the floor in front of her.
"This is my blanket," she said, holding up her white baby blanket.
Henry nodded, and smiled. "I know. I've been keeping it for you."
Emma smiled, and hugged the blanket tight to her. "I missed it."
"I missed you," Henry said, before he could catch himself. For her part, Emma didn't seem to notice the comment, as something else caught her eye. Under one of the fallen blankets was a photograph, the corner just sticking out. She picked it up and saw Henry smiling with a blonde haired, green eyed woman.
"Who's that?" she asked, showing the picture to him.
Henry drew in a sharp breath. It was the last picture he and Emma had taken together before she died. He had forgotten that he had tucked it away on the shelf with her baby blanket.
"That's… um, her name is Emma," Henry stammered, not quite sure what to say.
Emma turned the picture around and stared at it again, studying the unfamiliar and yet familiar woman staring back at her. "Mary… something… Snow White, she said her daughter is Emma."
Henry nodded. "Yeah, she did."
"Did she mean me? Or her?" Emma asked.
"It's… it's kind of complicated," Henry said. He wished he could tell her both were accurate, but he knew there was no possible way to explain that one. "How about another round of hide and seek? It's my turn to hide. You count, okay?"
Emma grinned and nodded, handing the picture back to Henry. She closed her eyes and started to count as he took off to hide. When she reached what she thought was an appropriate number, she opened her eyes and got up to start seeking, dragging her white blanket behind her.
She looked around Henry's room before leaving it, and then headed down the hall to the guest bedroom. She looked under the bed and in the closet. Nothing. "Henny!" she yelled, but got no response. She headed across the hall to Regina's bedroom, and looked in her closet. Nothing.
Being four, it didn't take Emma long to lose interest in the game, and get distracted by Regina's jewellery case sitting on the vanity. She dropped her blanket on the floor and climbed up on the chair, opening the box and revealing the treasures inside.
Emma grinned as the light caught the diamonds on the necklaces and earrings inside, making the colours on the crystals dance. She pulled out a necklace and put it on. It hung down well past her chest, and was heavy, but it made Emma feel like a little princess. She smiled at her reflection as she layered gold and silver bracelets on both of her arms. They were way too big, but she didn't care.
She turned to another box on Regina's vanity, and her eyes lit up when she saw it contained make up. She went to work applying dark blue eye shadow up to her eyebrows, and red lipstick well around the outside of her lips.
"Emma?" she heard Henry calling out, "did you give up?"
Emma turned toward the door, still grinning, as Henry walked into the room.
"Oh my gosh," Henry said, laughing.
"Do I look pretty?" Emma asked.
"Beautiful," Henry said, nodding. "Come on, let's go show my mom." Henry held out his hand to Emma, and led her down the stairs. Silently, he hoped that Regina would think it was funny, and not freak out. He couldn't imagine her getting mad at Emma, but he was supposed to be watching her.
Regina didn't look up as she heard the kids walking into the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready," she said, "get washed up."
"Oh, Emma's more than ready for dinner," Henry said, barely containing his laughter.
Regina looked over, and her mouth dropped. She stood there, stunned for a moment.
"I wanted to be pretty like you," Emma said, her smile fading when she saw Regina's shocked reaction.
In spite of the fact that Emma was wearing the most expensive necklace that Regina owned, she couldn't help the smile that started spreading across her face. "Well, you succeeded, by darling. You are much prettier than me."
A look of relief washed over Emma's face. "I can't wait til I'm big and I can wear pretty stuff like this all the time!"
Regina had to laugh, trying to imagine the adult Emma Swan in dresses and fancy jewellery. The two just didn't mesh, though she had to wonder if there was a chance that might change the second time around, after she had Regina's influence at a young age. She supposed she would just have to wait and see.