Two things :)

1. For everyone who has been asking about the Charmings or wanting them interacting with Little Emma, I highly recommend you check out the story Magical Mishap by amwalsh5. It's beautifully written and too adorable for words, and it will give you the Little Emma & Mama Snow fix that I never can. And, anyone who knows me or follows my stories will know, I rarely give praise for a story that is Charmings-heavy, so you KNOW that means this one is amazing ;)

2. This story has no definite end in sight… it's just going to be an ongoing saga of the adventures of Little Emma ;) I'll keep on writing it as long as people keep on wanting to read it. Thanks for all the positive feedback and follows/favs … I had no idea when I started this story, it would become the most popular one I have written, to date. I should thank TheQueenAndHerSwan for asking me to write more Little Emma, otherwise this story might never have existed… so THANK YOU :)

Chapter Six

Emma bounded in the door the second Regina got it unlocked. Regina marvelled at how the child seemed to be on a constant sugar high, even though she hadn't had any today.

Emma raced inside and grabbed her picture, and skipped back to Regina, who was holding the hideous frame.

"Can we hang it noooooooow?" she whined, for no apparent reason.

"Emma, just ask normally," Regina said, shaking her head. She reached out for the picture from Emma, and slid it carefully into the frame. While she hated the frame itself, she noticed that the red matched the colour of Emma's infamous jacket, and she couldn't help but think it was appropriate. She decided that once Emma had returned to her full grown self, she could happily take the monstrosity of a frame home with her.

But Regina wanted to keep the picture.

"It doesn't match the décor," Regina commented, once the picture was up and they were standing back, admiring it.

"It's the first thing people are gonna look at when they come here," Emma replied, grinning.

"Yes, I believe you're right about that."

"Is it lunchtime now?" Emma asked.

"It's a little early for lunch. How about a snack?" Regina suggested, taking Emma's hand and leading her into the kitchen.

"Ice cream?" Emma asked, hopefully, as Regina lifted her up onto a stool at the kitchen island.

"Hmm, not likely. I was thinking fruit."

"I hate fruit!" Emma pouted. "I want ice cream!"

"Emma, that is inappropriate," Regina scolded, making Emma pout harder.

"You are inappropriate," Emma said back, in a mocking tone that irritated Regina.

"Emma, if you want a snack, you need to be polite," Regina said, as calmly as she could manage.

"I want ice cream, not stupid fruit," Emma replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Then you'll have nothing, and you'll wait for lunch," Regina countered.

"That's not fair!" Emma cried. "I don't think I like it here anymore."

Regina closed her eyes and resisted the urge to tell Emma if she didn't like it, she could leave. She remembered when Henry was four, and had threatened to run away when she didn't let him stay up to watch cartoons. She had told him she would gladly send him on his merry way, and even offered to help him pack. All it had taken was her standing up from the couch for him to realize he didn't really want to run away at all, and grab onto her legs.

But Emma was different. She was used to being ushered from one home to the next with no aspect of permanence. Telling her she could leave could either result in complete indifference, or a complete melt down. Neither would help this situation. Regina needed a different approach.

"Emma, I don't think I like this attitude," she said, calmly.

"I don't like YOU!" Emma shouted back.

"I don't think that's true. But that does hurt my feelings, and I think you should say sorry."

Emma continued to pout, and stared at the door of the fridge.

"Fine, you don't want to apologize? You can sit there until you do."

"I'll get down the second you leave," Emma shot back, defiantly.

"I can stand here all day," Regina said, smiling.

She had never seen this kind of behavior from Henry, but Henry had been taught respect and manners. She was well aware that everything Emma was doing now was learned behaviour. She thought about Emma drawing on the walls, and wondered if the child liked getting in trouble. It occurred to her that perhaps getting in trouble was the only way Emma knew how to get attention.

Either way, this stand-off wasn't going to work. Emma was every bit as stubborn at four as she was as an adult, and Regina really had no interest in standing there all day. It was time to change her approach.

She took a few steps closer to Emma, and Emma involuntarily flinched, putting her arms up to shield her face. Regina stopped dead in her tracks, staring at her. She hadn't even touched her, but something in the way she had moved had made Emma think she was about to smack her. Or worse.

"Emma," she said, softly, pulling up a stool to sit facing the now trembling child. "I'm not going to hit you."

Emma slowly lowered her hands and peeked at Regina. She scanned her eyes for a moment, and Regina wondered if the four year old version already had her superpower. Either way, she must have decided Regina was telling the truth, because she lunged forward. Regina reacted in a split second to catch Emma before she fell right off the stool, and held her close.

No sooner was she in Regina's arms, did she start bawling. "I'm sorry, Gina. I like you and I'll be a good girl."

"You are a good girl," Regina assured her, petting her hair and squeezing her close. She held her until she calmed down, and then she reached down to cup her little face, so she could look in her eyes.

"Sweetheart, you said you had another bad dream earlier. Did the lady in that dream hit you?" she asked.

Emma nodded. "When I was bad."

"Okay, well I want you to listen to me, because this is important. I'm never going to hit you, I promise. And no one in Storybrooke ever will, okay? You're safe here."

"What about when I'm not here?" Emma asked, still sniffling.

Regina reached into her pocket and pulled out the heart shaped pendant she had gotten from Belle earlier. "I got you this, to try," she said, slipping the necklace around Emma's neck. "If it works, then when you go to those places in your dreams, it will let you remember me and remember you have a safe place to come home to, okay?"

Emma nodded, playing with the necklace in her hands. "How do we know if it works?"

"We'll find out when you nap."

"And what if it doesn't work?"

"Then I'll find another way. I won't stop trying until I do."

Emma looked down at the necklace again. The heart shaped stone was red like her picture frame, and red like the heart she had drawn in the middle of her picture.

"Can I have ice cream now?"

Regina sighed. She would have loved nothing more than to watch Emma's smile when she said yes, but it was still 10:00am and Emma still needed boundaries. And less sugar. "No, Sweetheart. But you can have fruit if you decide you don't hate it anymore."

Emma pondered that for a moment. "I don't hate it."

"I didn't think so."

Emma stuck close to Regina's legs as she cut up apple slices and grapes and put them in a bowl for her. She handed Emma the bowl and led her by the hand into the living room, where she sat her on her lap and brushed her long blond curls as she ate the fruit.

Regina couldn't help but notice her hair seemed longer than it did when they first found her, and she guessed that was a result of her rapid aging. Her hair was longer but she hadn't grown, at all, and Regina found that disturbing.

"Are my Mommy and Daddy coming here today?" Emma asked, when she finished her snack.

"This afternoon, yes," Regina replied. Emma didn't respond and Regina couldn't help but notice how indifferent to them she was. She was sure they would blame her for that.

Regina put the hairbrush down, and Emma leaned back and curled up on her lap.

"Are you sleepy, baby?" Regina asked, wrapping her arms around the tiny girl.

"I want to see if this works," Emma said, holding the pendant tight as she drifted off.

Regina stroked her hair as she drifted off, praying that it did.

Emma woke up in a familiar bed. She remembered being here, before. She shared this room with three other girls. There were two sets of bunk beds, and she was on the bottom of one, on the side further from the door.

It was still dark when she woke up, but she didn't know what time it was. She needed to pee – badly – and she climbed out of bed and stumbled over the toys and clothes on the floor on the way to the doorway. There was a light on in the hall, but she couldn't get out of the room due to the baby gate the mother put up at night.

She bounced at the door for a few moments, her lip quivering. She didn't want to have an accident on the floor, but she couldn't hold it, either. She knew she wasn't allowed to wake up the mother unless it was an emergency. She didn't really know what that word meant, but she didn't think this counted.

She had seen the older kids climb back at forth over the gate, and she wondered how hard that might be. She tried, but her little legs weren't long enough. She looked around the room in the dim light cast in from the hallway, and spotted a little plastic stool in the corner. There was something sticky all over it, but she picked it up and carried it over, anyway.

She placed it in front of the gate and climbed up. It gave her just enough height to swing a leg over the gate, but now she was stuck. One foot was still on the stool, but the other was dangling over the side and she didn't know what to do next.

Small, scared whimpers escaped her throat, as she realized she couldn't pull the dangling leg back over. She peeked over the side and saw that it was a far drop, when she was so little. The noise she was making was enough to wake up one of the other girls.

"Shut up, Emma! You're gonna get us in trouble!"

A doll with a hard plastic head came flying across the room at her, thrown by whichever girl had just yelled at her, and Emma panicked, covering her face with her hands. She lost her balance and toppled over the gate, hitting her forehead on the tile floor below.

She wondered if this was an emergency.

She couldn't think as she started to wail, lying on the floor. She didn't have to pee anymore, but her head hurt bad and she couldn't stop crying. It was moments before another light was flicked on, and she could hear footsteps approaching.

It was the mother.

"What the hell is going on?"

The mother grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet.

"I falled," Emma said, through the sobs.

The mother rolled her eyes. "You peed yourself, you little brat."

Emma looked down and realized it was true, and started crying harder.

"Get a towel and clean up this mess," the mother said, pushing Emma in the direction of the linen closet. When she finished, she dropped the towel into the laundry basket, and came back to the bedroom door, still in her wet pajamas. The mother grabbed her by the arm again, and lifted her back over the gate.

"Change your clothes and get back into bed, and I better not hear or see you again until morning, understood?"

"But my head still hurts," Emma said, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to start falling again.

"Your ass is gonna hurt if you don't shut the hell up," the mother said, turning and heading back to her room.

Emma stood at the door for a moment, sniffling, before heading back to the big dresser that all the girls shared, and finding another pair of pajamas that belonged to her. She changed herself quietly, and climbed back into her bed.

Something was tickling her neck, and she reached for it, thinking it was a loose string on her pajama top.

It wasn't. It was her necklace.

Suddenly memories of Regina and Henry and Storybrooke came flooding back to her. It was overwhelming at first, but then Emma remembered Regina telling her she would have a safe place to come home to.

Home.

That was a word she had never really understood before.

It didn't matter what this mother did to her, because she was going to go home to Regina, and she would make everything better.

Regina watched Emma as she stirred, restlessly, in her arms. She watched as a large goose egg appeared on her forehead, and wondered what in the hell could be happening in her memories now, as she used her magic to soothe it away.

She watched as Emma reached up and grabbed on to the pendant again in her sleep, and she hoped that meant it was working. She wanted to wake her up and find out, but she knew even if she did, these memories were waiting for her tonight, again, anyway.

Emma slept for about an hour before her eyes finally fluttered back open. Regina didn't know how many days she got back in an hour of sleep, and she knew there really wouldn't be a way of knowing until Emma was old enough to tell time and days.

"Welcome, back, Baby," Regina said, smiling down at Emma, who was blinking up at her. "Did it work? Did you remember me?"

Emma smiled and nodded, and Regina felt a wave of relief wash over her, as she hugged Emma tightly.

"The Mommy was mean, but I just thought about you," Emma explained. "I fell on my head and I had an accident, and she was mad."

"She was mad because you had an accident?" Regina asked, feeling sick to her stomach.

Emma nodded again. "She said I was a bad girl, and she made me sit in the time out closet in the morning."

Regina shuddered. "What's the time out closet?" she asked, though she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

"A chair in a closet and she locks the door and makes you think about what you did. I just thought about you instead," Emma replied, nonchalantly.

"Good girl," Regina said, squeezing her again. She suddenly found herself thinking of the adult Miss Swan, and the years she had known her. All these things, they had happened to her, and Regina had never known. Presumably, no one knew, because Emma always kept her walls up. Regina wished she had the adult Emma now, so she could hug her tight just like she was doing with the little one now.

Lord knows she needed it.

But, there would be time for that, down the road. And maybe this time around she wouldn't need it quite as much, because there would be a little more good mixed in with the bad. And maybe, thanks to this necklace, the bad wouldn't be quite as bad, this time around.

"Can we have ice cream now?" Emma asked. Regina smiled, knowing she wasn't going to hear the end of this any time soon. Part of her wanted to tell Emma she could have all the ice cream in the world, but she knew she couldn't do that.

"After lunch," Regina said. She refrained from adding 'if you're good', like she would have with Henry. This child did not need conditions attached to her promises.

"I'm not going back to that Mommy's house again," Emma said, as she climbed off Regina's lap.

"How do you know?"

"Because she dropped me off at the social worker's office. That was right before I came back to you," Emma replied.

Regina was grateful for that, at least, though she didn't know where Emma might go next. She watched Emma, quizzically, as she started hopping around on one foot. "What are you doing, Little One?" Sometimes, the name just slipped out, but Emma didn't seem to mind.

"The floor is lava," Emma said, hopping again.

"But you're on the floor," Regina pointed out. She distinctly remembered Henry playing this game, and the whole point was to not touch the floor.

Emma paused for a moment, and cocked her head to one side. "I don't know how to play this game here," she admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Your house is too clean. There's no stuff on the floor to jump on."

Regina cringed. She didn't want to imagine the state of the home Emma had just come from. She stood up and swooped Emma up into her arms. "I'll just have to save you from all the lava, then."

Emma laughed as Regina spun her around, and then carried her outside to run off the rest of her energy until lunch.

After lunch, the Charmings were coming, and Regina wondered how they were going to handle this more spirited version of Little Emma.

She also realized that this newfound pendant meant they were going to have much more spirited Emma and much less sullen Emma. As much as she was glad for that, she had to wonder how they were all going to handle it.

To her surprise, she was actually more excited than anything.

Emma sat on a stool at the kitchen island as Regina prepared lunch. Regina was too busy to noticed the intense concentration on the child's face, as she stared at the fridge door again. She turned when she heard a small poof and sensed the magic in the air, only to see Emma grinning, with ice cream in a bowl in front of her.

"Emma!" Regina exclaimed. Part of her wanted to scold the girl, but part of her was truly amazed that she had figured out how to conjure the ice cream from the freezer on her own, in a bowl, no less.

Emma giggled. "I did magic!"

"I see that," Regina said, picking up the bowl, "but I said after lunch." She opened the freezer and put the bowl inside, as Emma crossed her arms and scowled.

"Take that pout off your face, Emma. You don't make the rules here, remember?" Regina said, as she turned back to finished preparing lunch.

She breathed a sigh of annoyance and spun back around as she heard that poof again, and once again the ice cream was on the counter.

"This isn't funny, Emma," she said, picking the bowl up again. "Do it again and you won't get any ice cream at all."

"I can't help it!" Emma insisted. "I just think about ice cream, and ice cream comes to me!"

"Then don't think about ice cream," Regina shrugged.

Emma tried. She tried to think about floor tiles and kitchen sinks and shiny counter tops, but before long she was thinking about the fridge in front of her and that fridge had a freezer and that freezer had…

"Emma!" Regina cried, as the ice cream appeared, yet again.

"It was an accident!" Emma insisted, pushing the bowl towards Regina, as proof.

Regina put the bowl in the freezer, yet again, and waved her hands in front of it. The door illuminated purple for a moment, and Regina turned around. "There, I sealed it with magic," she said, rolling her eyes, before returning to making lunch.

Emma wasn't sure what 'sealed' meant, but she thought it sounded an awful lot like a challenge, and she focused on the fridge door, thinking about ice cream harder than ever. It took longer this time, but sure enough, the ice cream appeared, yet again. Emma grinned.

"I see you're pleased with yourself," Regina remarked, raising an eyebrow at Emma. "If you weren't actively defying me, I might actually be impressed that you broke my spell so quickly. Magic is fueled by emotion, you know, but child, I swear yours may very well be fueled by your love of food."

Regina hid her smile as she returned the bowl to the freezer, for the fourth time. Truthfully, she was impressed that Emma broke the spell. She had a suspicion that Emma's magic might very well be much, much stronger when she finally returned to normal, now that she had a chance to let it manifest at this age, in a world with magic.

Blue's comment about getting it under control before it was too late was making more and more sense all the time.

"Come on," Regina said, lifting Emma off the stool, "we'll make a picnic outside for lunch, okay? Far from the temptations of frozen treats."

"But I can still have ice cream after lunch?" Emma asked.

"I'm not sure I could stop you if I tried," Regina admitted. She regretted it once she said it, no matter how true it was. Either way, even if she didn't have magic, Emma certainly had the same knack as Henry to ask the same question over and over and over until Regina would finally give in. This persistence was definitely genetic.

Regina laid out a blanket on the grass, for herself and Emma to have their picnic. Emma sat and ate, and to Regina's relief, actually managed not to mention ice cream until she was finished.

"Now ice cream?" Emma grinned at her, once they were both done eating.

"If you can make it appear again, you can have it," Regina said, offering a challenge.

"I can't… I can't see the freezer," Emma insisted.

"You don't need to be able to see the freezer. You couldn't see the bowls in the cupboard or the ice cream inside the freezer, and you made it appear anyway. You can do it, Emma. You know where it is, just focus."

Emma scrunched up her face as she concentrated, hard. It was moments like this that Regina could really see the adult Emma in her. As much as she enjoyed the little version, it was also moments like this that she found herself missing the adult version.

It took well over a minute of undivided concentration – which Regina thought was impressive for such a young child – but Emma finally made the ice cream appear before her, bowl and all.

"Good girl," Regina said, smiling.

Emma grinned, at the ice cream, and the compliment, but her smile faded quickly. "I don't have a spoon!"

Regina thought about asking her to conjure that as well, but she wasn't sure Emma knew which drawer they were in, so she waved her hand and brought one herself, hanging it to the girl, who beamed again.

"Now, Emma, I want you to listen to me," Regina said, as Emma happily ate her ice cream. "You can use magic when you're with me, but try not to use it when you're alone with your parents, okay? Because if something goes wrong, they won't know how to fix it."

Emma looked up and pouted. "What if it's an accident?"

"Well, accidents are one thing, but no conjuring ice cream just because you feel like it, or anything like that, alright."

Emma nodded, but Regina wasn't convinced.

"Promise me, Emma."

"Ok, promise," Emma agreed.

Regina sat back and watched her eating her ice cream. It was all over her face and her shirt, but she looked so happy. A genuine smile that reached her eyes. She had so rarely seen Emma like this, and she wondered if this time now would change that in the long run. She didn't want to change who Emma was, but she figured, a little happiness couldn't hurt her. Emma spent her whole life worrying about everyone else's happiness, and Regina felt maybe it was time to return the favour.

"Hi, Emma!" Emma and Regina both looked up as Snow and David made their way around the side of the house into the backyard.

"We tried to knock, but there was no answer," David said.

"We've been out here, I didn't hear you," Regina shrugged, as she stood up.

"Look Mommy!" Emma said, jumping up and holding her necklace out to show Snow, "Regina gave me a magic necklace, so I can remember her in my bad dreams and not be scared!"

"So you can remember Regina," Snow said, casting a sideways glance to Regina.

"So she can remember all of this," Regina said. "She just remembered me because she was with me when she fell asleep. She'll remember you and David, too."

"Are you mad?" Emma asked, glancing back at forth between Snow and Regina. The child was perceptive, Regina had to give her that.

"No, Sweetie, of course not," Snow insisted.

Regina didn't comment as she started picking up their picnic.

"Where are you going?" Emma asked, when she suddenly realized that Regina might leave her.

"Nowhere, Little One. I'm just picking up this stuff to take inside. Your parents are here to spend time with you. I'll just be inside," Regina told her, stroking her hair once before heading inside. She glanced back out the patio door to see Emma already beginning to play with David, so she headed inside to start on dishes.

She had been inside about half an hour, catching up on housework, when Snow came up behind her, startling her.

"Sorry, Regina," Snow said, as she saw her jump.

"It's alright. Is something wrong?" she asked, noting that Emma wasn't with her.

"No, everything's fine. David's playing with Emma. I just wanted to talk to you," Snow said.

"About what?" Regina asked, feeling the trepidation rising.

"Well, David and I have been talking, and… Emma needs to come home with us, sooner rather than later. I know you're worried about magic, but you're not that far away if something happens. Neither are the fairies. We want our daughter home."

Regina closed her eyes for a moment, trying not to let her emotions betray her. "I understand that," she said, coolly, "but I don't think you understand how strong her magic actually is."

"Regina, she's four," Snow scoffed, as if she thought that made a difference.

"Yes, she is. And she broke a protection spell I made today. I didn't even teach her how, she just figured it out. What if something happens and I don't get there in time?"

"Regina," Snow sighed, "I'm not trying to stop you from ever seeing her again. She needs you, to teach her magic. And she needs to see Henry, obviously, as much as possible. But she's my daughter."

"I'm not trying to be her mother," Regina retorted.

"You're not trying not to be, either," Snow countered. "The simple fact of the matter is, she's our child, and David and I get the final say."

Regina sighed. She knew Snow was right, but only about she and David having the final say. Regina was sure taking Emma away was a bad decision.

She was sure they couldn't handle little magical Emma.

She was sure Emma was going to put up a fight.

She was sure they would come crawling back, asking for help, the first time Emma acted up, magical or not.

She wouldn't let herself think about how badly she wanted Emma to stay, just because she wanted her.

"Gina!" Emma's little voice squealed as she came tearing into the kitchen, David following close behind.

"What is it?" Regina asked, dropping down to a crouch before her, panic suddenly rising at the urgency of the little girl's voice.

"You have a cat!" she shrieked, grinning from ear to ear.

"I can assure you, I most certainly do not," Regina said, looking back and forth between Emma and David, perplexed.

"You do, in your yard! I saw it walking around!" Emma insisted, bouncing up and down as she talked, clearly overwhelmed with excitement.

"Well, I do hope you chased it away then. A cat has no business being in my yard," Regina said, with a smirk, as she stood up again.

"No, I didn't!" Emma cried. "Well, I did, but I didn't mean to. I just wanted to pet it."

"I don't want you to be petting stray animals that trespass on my property," Regina said, shaking her head. "Who knows what diseases they carry."

Snow snickered, rolling her eyes. "When did you become such an animal-hater?"

"I don't hate animals," Regina retorted. "I just don't like cats. Especially not strays. Isn't Storybrooke supposed to have an animal shelter for that reason?" she asked, looking pointedly at David.

David shrugged. "I have been a little preoccupied being Sheriff. No time to volunteer at the animal shelter these days."

"Can we go to the animal shelter and get a puppy?" Emma asked, smiling up at Regina, hopefully.

"No dog is coming into this house, either. If you want a puppy, you best ask your parents," Regina smirked. She knew she probably shouldn't encourage Emma, but part of her couldn't help it.

"Thanks for that, Regina," Snow said, rolling her eyes. "Maybe we can talk about a puppy when you're a bit older, Emma."

Emma pouted. "That means no."

Snow shook her head. "It just means, not right now. But, Emma, we have something more important to talk about right now. I just talked to Regina, and we've decided that it's time for you to come home with me and Daddy. It's where you belong, and we miss you."

Regina's breath hitched in her throat. She had no idea that Snow had meant now, when she was talking about bringing Emma home with her.

Emma's eyes grew wide with panic, as she looked back and forth between Regina and her mother. "I don't wanna! Why can't I stay here? Gina!"

Regina sighed and crouched down again, wishing she could throttle Snow for putting her in this position. "It's alright, baby girl. You're going to go home with Mommy and Daddy, and then you can come back tomorrow for another magic lesson, okay?"

"Regina…" Snow started, but she was cut off by a quick glare from Regina.

"And then I can sleep here tomorrow?" Emma asked, pitifully.

"No, sweetheart," Regina sighed. "You're going to sleep at your home, with your parents. I'll see you during the day for magic lessons."

Emma eyes filled with tears as she threw her arms around Regina's neck. "I.. don't… wanna!"

"I know, Little One," Regina said, lifting her up, "but your home is where you belong, with your parents who love you."

"I thought you loved me!" Emma wailed, grabbing onto Regina harder.

"I do, but I'm not your Mommy, remember? Now, let's go upstairs and pack up your things, alright?"

Emma didn't answer as Regina turned to carry her up the stairs, her heart breaking with every sob that escaped the child's throat.

She hated herself for what she was doing.

She hated them for making her do it.

It wasn't fair to hate them for wanting their daughter back.

It wasn't fair to take her away.

Regina set Emma down on her bed, and sat down beside her, brushing her hair back from her face. "Emma, you know how this necklace helps you remember me when you're dreaming?" she said, holding up the heart-shaped pendant. Emma nodded. "Well, you just keep that close to your heart and remember that I'm not far away, okay? I'm not going anywhere, and you can still see me every day."

"Promise?" Emma asked, her sobs slowly.

"Promise," Regina agreed.

"If that cat comes back will you feed it?" Emma asked, as Regina stood to get a suitcase from her closet, to pack up the overabundance of clothing she had purchased for Emma.

"That, I will not promise," she said, with a small laugh.

"But it's pretty!" Emma insisted.

"I'm sure it is. It can be pretty far, far away from my home."

Emma sat back down on the bed and pouted as she watched Regina pack up her things. "Maybe I should leave some clothes here, just in case," Emma piped up.

"In case of what, darling?"

"In case…" Emma trailed off, not knowing what she could say to convince Regina.

Regina smiled, and held up a small blue dress. "This dress is in my favourite colour, did you know that?"

Emma shook her head, no.

"Well, it is. Maybe we'll leave this one here, just in case," she winked, and Emma grinned as she put the dress back. Regina came to sit with her again. "I know you're used to moving from home to home, and never seeing the last family again once you get to the new one, aren't you?"

Emma nodded, looking down.

"Well, that's not what's happening right now, okay? You're going to stay with your parents, but you're not leaving Storybrooke. We're keeping you forever, okay? Your Mommy and Daddy, Henry and Neal and Me, we're all your family and none of us are leaving you, no matter who you live with. Got it?"

Emma nodded, but continued to pout.

"What's still bothering you, Little One?"

"Henry's gonna be sad that I'm gone. He didn't get to say goodbye and now he's at school."

"What if I send Henry to your parents' house tonight, for a sleepover?" Regina suggested. Henry went back and forth between her home and the Charmings' loft so often, she knew she would be fine without clearing that with them first.

Emma smiled and nodded. "If we have Henry, then you hafta come see me again!"

"I would come see you, anyway," Regina insisted. "You couldn't keep me away if you tried."

Regina gave Emma another squeeze before picking her up and carrying her back downstairs. Once they were at the bottom, Regina waved her hand to poof Emma's suitcase and blanket to the foyer, where the Charmings were waiting, clearly ready to take their daughter home.

"I'm sending Henry to your place tonight," Regina informed Snow, as she handed off Emma. "Emma would like him to have a sleepover."

Snow nodded and smiled.

"See you soon, Little One," Regina said, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead, before her aparents took her home.

Once they were gone, Regina sighed and looked around her house. It felt big and empty and quiet again, and it was unsettling. The silence was broken moments later though, but a small mewling at her patio door. She turned to see a charcoal coloured cat with a white tuff on its chest, scratching at her door.

"Get!" Regina hissed, swatting at the door. The cat took off in the other direction, and Regina watched as it disappeared.

"I swear, Emma, if you enchanted that cat to pester me…" Regina mumbled to herself. On one hand, the idea that Emma would know how to do that seemed preposterous. On the other, she was learning magic at an alarmingly fast rate, and most seemed to be self-taught.

But Regina was damned if she would be acquiring a cat in this lifetime.

Henry had been reluctant to go over to his grandparents when Regina had told him about Emma's recent move. He was worried about how Regina was going to handle being alone and missing Emma, but Regina managed to convince him Emma needed him more than she did. It was true, and Regina also knew Henry badly wanted to be with Little Emma as much as possible.

She missed the little girl, but she was also grateful for a night of peace, sleeping alone in her bed, no nightmares to soothe. She tried not to think about nightmares, unsure of how Snow and David would handle them. At least Emma had her necklace, she reminded herself.

It was shortly after 3:00am when Regina woke with a start, her eyes fluttering open to meet green ones, staring down at her.

"Emma!" Regina exclaimed. "What… how?" She shook her head, trying to force the sleepy fogginess away.

"I did magic," Emma explained. "I just thought of you, and then I was here."

Regina closed her eyes for a moment, processing. "You learned how to poof."

Emma grinned, looking very pleased with herself, but her expression faded as Regina reached for her phone. "What are you doing?"

"Calling your parents," Regina explained. "You can't just disappear in the middle of the night. If they wake up and find you missing, they'll panic."

Emma pouted and listened as Regina explained to one of her parents – she wasn't sure which one had answered the phone – about what Emma had just done.

"Don't be upset with me, Emma," Regina said, as she ended the call. "I have to take you home."

"I want to stay here!" Emma wailed again.

"I understand that, but you don't live here." Regina explained, again. She had forgotten how much repeating was involved when dealing with a preschooler. "So how about we make a deal. You be a good girl, and stay with your parents, and I'll talk to them about maybe letting you have a sleepover here, soon, okay?"

Emma considered that for a moment, before reluctantly agreeing.

"Good girl," Regina smiled, as she waved her hands to poof herself back into clothing, from her pajamas. "Now I'm taking you home." She waved her hands again, this time poofing herself and Emma to the Charmings' loft, in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Emma!" Snow cried, grabbing her and picking her up the moment they appeared. "Thank you for bringing her back, Regina."

"Not a problem," Regina sighed, trying to hide how exhausted she felt. "Now, you be a good girl, Emma, and I will see you tomorrow." Regina said, as she moved to poof herself home again.

"Wait! Regina," Snow called, stopping her. "Is there a way you can… I don't know, block Emma's magic so she can't do that again."

"I could, but…" Regina paused momentarily, looking at the panicked expression on Emma's face. She had spent too long trying to show Emma that magic was okay and normal, she couldn't send her mixed signals about it now. "But I'm not going to, unless it's absolutely necessary, which I don't think it is. Emma's not going to do that again, are you Emma?"

Emma shook her head. "No, I be good."

"Good," Regina smiled. "Good night." She didn't wait to see if Snow would protest again, before poofing herself home again.

Back at her house, Regina headed into the kitchen for a glass of water before returning to bed. While there, she heard a scratching, and that familiar, annoying mewling at her door. "Get!" she cried, more forcefully than the last time, swatting at the door again. Again, the cat took off.

"Emma, I swear…" Regina mumbled, again. She stopped herself, thinking how happy Emma would be if she let that cat in.

No.

No cat.

Never.

Regina sighed, and went to bed, hoping this was the last she would see of that damned cat.