Chapter Eight
Emma ran to the front door to let her mother in the second she heard the knock. She was jumping up and down with pure excitement as she grabbed Snow's hand and dragged her into the house.
"Look! Look!" Emma cried, pointing at the cat, who was now back inside, curled up on Regina's sofa in the living room.
"You got her a cat?" Snow asked, looking at Regina, a little accusingly.
"No, not exactly," Regina said. "It was hanging around the yard and Emma liked it, so we let it in."
"Her name is Kitty Soft Paws and I love her and Regina said she can live here and we bought her a bed and a collar and… oh and I have to show you something else!" Emma exclaimed, barely taking a moment to breathe before she turned to drag Snow up the stairs. Regina followed behind, wondering what Snow was going to think of Emma having her own room at the mansion.
"Look!" Emma cried again, throwing the door open to her bedroom.
"Wow, that's very… pink," Snow said, looking around the room. The colour was pretty intense when the room was empty of all furniture. Regina held out hope that come curtains and decorations would tame it, at least a little.
"It's my room!" Emma smiled. "Gina and I painted it today and tomorrow she's gonna get me new curtains and bedspread and toys!"
Snow turned to Regina. "Why… um, why do you think Emma would need a room at your house."
Regina shrugged. "She wanted one." She decided not to mention that with the rate Emma was poofing back to her, it was quite evident where she really wanted to be.
Snow turned back to her daughter. "Emma, you already have a bedroom. And toys."
"Now I have two bedrooms! And those are Neal's toys! I want my own toys!" Emma insisted.
"Well, honey, you know I would get you anything you wanted, don't you?" Snow asked, smiling hopefully at her daughter.
Emma shifted from one foot to the other, glancing back and forth between Regina and Snow. "Why can't I have two rooms? It's Gina's house and she said I could. She has lots of rooms."
"Emma, why don't you go play with Kitty and let me talk to Mommy for a minute," Regina suggested. Emma nodded reluctantly and trudged back down the stairs.
"Regina, what are you trying to do here?" Snow asked, the moment Emma was out of earshot.
"I'm not trying to do anything but make her happy," Regina retorted, as she thought that much should be blatantly obvious.
"She's not your daughter," Snow insisted.
"Yes, and Henry's not your son, but you act like another mother to him, don't you?"
"That's different. I love Henry, and he's my grandson," Snow replied.
"And I care about Emma. She was my friend, before, and now she's in a position where she needs as many people on her side as she can get. I'm not trying to infringe on your rights as her mother, but she needs me, too."
"Regina," Snow sighed.
"No," Regina cut her off, before she could continue whatever diatribe she was about to embark on. "I let you and your husband try to push me out of Henry's life after the curse broke, because I thought I didn't deserve him. But he's my son, and you tried to take him away. You wanted to take him back to the Enchanted Forest and leave me here, if you recall? You would have been perfectly happy to have me out of his life, for good."
"Well, it wasn't without just cause," Snow reminded her, but her voice was a little timid this time.
"Yes, actually, it was. Despite our history, I never did anything to hurt Henry, and I never made any attempt to remove you from his life, when I would have been well within my legal rights to do so. And the reason I didn't, was because having you and David and Emma in his life was important to him, and it was what was best for him. You, dear, need to think about what's best for Emma."
Snow sighed, and looked back at the pink bedroom, before meeting Regina's gaze again. "Even so, I can't help but think how it was your fault I missed out on her childhood the first time around. And now it feels like you're taking her away, again."
"I never took her from you," Regina countered. "You made that choice."
"Gina?" Emma's little voice caught them both by surprise, and the women spun around to see Emma sitting on the stairs, holding her cat tight, staring at them with wide, worried eyes. "Why are you and Mommy fighting?"
"We're not," Regina said, stepping over to the stairs and sitting beside Emma. "We're just talking, and it got a little heated. I'm sorry, Little One."
"Come on, Emma, let's get going so we can have dinner, alright?" Snow said, the tension still evident in her voice. Regina knew this was far from over.
"I don't want to," Emma pouted, looking at Regina.
"It's time to go home, Emma," Regina said, firmly. "Kitty Soft Paws will be here waiting for you tomorrow. Why don't you go let her out, and I'll feed her dinner later, alright?"
Emma nodded, and headed slowly back down the stairs again.
"Why don't you just let me watch her, rather than leaving her with Granny?" Regina suggested, turning back to Snow.
"Do I have a choice?"
"Well, you know she's just going to poof herself here, anyway, and it's not my job to return her constantly. It makes her happy, and she needs to work on her magic," Regina said, as she turned to head down the stairs.
"Fine," Snow sighed, as she followed behind. She glanced at the picture in the ugly red frame and shook her head, without comment, as she walked by.
Regina stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and turned back to Snow. "Look, I understand, more than most, what it's like to have your child want to be with someone else. I don't think there's much that could hurt worse than that. But you really need to stop blaming me for it, and think about what's best for Emma in this situation."
"Yeah, you said that already," Snow said, walking past Regina to fetch her daughter from her spot at the glass door, where she was waving to her cat.
"Bye, Gina!" Emma said, hugging her legs tight before she turned to follow her mother out of the house. "Don't forget to feed Kitty Soft Paws! And she said to tell you she wants to sleep in your bed tonight."
"Well, you can tell her from me, 'keep dreaming'," Regina said with a laugh. "I'll see you tomorrow, Baby Girl."
Tomorrow came quicker than expected.
Regina awoke just after 3:00am to the sound of her phone ringing.
"Ugh, yes?" she groaned into the phone.
"Regina, is Emma with you?" David's anxious voice came through from the other end.
"What?" Regina asked, sitting up.
"She's not in her bed. We can't find her. We thought she must have poofed to you."
Regina flicked her wrist to turn on the lights, and heard a muffle groan from beside her. She turned to see Emma laying there, under the covers, sleeping cat held tight in one arm, the other over her eyes, shielding them from the light.
"Oh, she's here," Regina said. She heard David breathe a sigh of relief from the other end.
"Look, Regina… she was upset when she got home tonight. She missed you and she missed that cat and… would it be too much to ask to let her sleep over?"
"Snow's alright with that?" Regina asked, stroking Emma's hair with her free hand. Emma moved her arm slightly and peeked out at Regina with one eye, a small smile creeping on to her lips.
"It's what's best for Emma, right now, I think," David said. Regina was relieved that at least one of them got that.
"Alright," Regina agreed, as if she were doing them a favour.
As she ended the call, she moved her hand again to dim the lights, enough so that she could still see Emma, but the child wasn't being blinded. She slid back down and pulled Emma – cat and all – closer. "Want to tell me what's going on, Little One?"
"I was scared," Emma whispered.
"You had another bad dream?"
Emma shook her head. "No, I was scared that Mommy wouldn't bring me back here."
"She said she was going to. Why would you think that?"
"I heard you guys fighting about her taking Henry away, and I didn't want her to take me away, too," Emma admitted.
"Emma… she didn't take Henry away. Henry's asleep right down the hall. What happened then happened a long time ago, and no one's going to take you away. Your Mommy and I sometimes get upset with each other, but we're still friends, and we both love you, so you don't need to worry about anyone taking you away, alright?"
Emma nodded. "I just want to stay with you, though. Don't take me home, okay?"
"You can sleep here tonight," Regina said, moving her hand again to turn the lights all the way off. "And all day tomorrow, okay? I promise you, I will never be far from you."
"Why did you tell Mommy we were friends before?" Emma asked.
Regina hesitated for a moment. She was way too young to process the truth of this situation right now. "We are friends, aren't we?" she asked, finally.
Emma nodded. "You're my best friend. Don't tell Kitty."
Regina leaned forward and placed a kiss on Emma's forehead. "You're my best friend, too, Little One."
Regina regretted that it had taken her this long to figure that out.
When Emma and Regina woke that morning, they discovered it had rained all night. Emma grinned as she stared out Regina's bedroom window.
"Can I play in the puddles?" she asked.
"Maybe, after breakfast," Regina said. "Go wake Henry up, okay?"
Emma nodded and bounded down the hall. She swung open Henry's door and jumped onto his bed.
"Ugh, what?" Henry groaned.
"It's morning!" Emma exclaimed, shaking his shoulders mercilessly as she bounced on his back.
"Ugh, Emma, stop! I'm awake!" Henry grumbled.
"It rained all night! After breakfast I get to play outside," Emma told him, as she reluctantly climbed off of his back.
Henry grinned. "I bet the garden is full of snails," he said, sitting up. "When I was little I used to collect them on a stick for pets. I wasn't allowed a real pet, not like you."
"I'm gonna get some snails!" Emma declared.
"Wait! Don't tell my mom," Henry said, with a mischievous grin. "She'd like it better if you surprised her."
Emma nodded and smiled, glad to be part of Henry's hijinks. Henry knew better than to talk Emma into causing trouble, but he also knew his mother had a soft spot for Emma in this form, and she wouldn't get in too much trouble.
Emma was practically bouncing off the walls all through breakfast. She could barely sit still in her carseat as they dropped Henry off at school. When they got back to the mansion, she let herself out of the seat and out of the car and took off running for the backyard.
"Emma! Wait!" Regina called. Emma stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. Regina waved her hand and magically switched out Emma's running shoes for little red rubber boots that looked like lady bugs. "Go ahead," she said, as she followed Emma around the back of the house.
In the backyard, Emma headed straight for the garden and started digging around. Regina sighed, thinking about how Henry used to do the same thing when he was little. She wondered if she, herself, had been so fascinated with dirt and bugs when she was four. She guessed not, since Cora would never have allowed it.
She pulled open the patio door to let the cat back out, and sat in the porch swing to watch Emma play. To her surprise, Kitty Soft Paws jumped up on her lap.
"Ugh," Regina sighed, but didn't push her off this time. "Why don't you go play with the girl?"
Kitty Soft Paws just purred and put her head down on Regina's lap.
After Emma had played for a while, Regina stood up and called to her, telling her it was time to get cleaned up to go shopping for the things for her bedroom.
Emma jumped up and ran to the door, holding a large stick with dozens of snails crawling all over it.
"No," Regina said simply, shaking her head.
"But!" Emma whined, as if 'but' was a convincing enough argument.
"No 'but', you are not bringing snails into my home. Put them back in the garden where they belong."
Emma pouted and trudged back to the garden. She flopped herself onto the ground and started plucking snails off the stick, one at a time, and placing them back in the dirt. She would turn to cast Regina a little glare, every third snail or so.
Regina sighed and crossed her arms. "Hurry up, Emma."
Emma tossed the stick into the garden, and was about to stand up when something else caught her attention. She turned back to Regina, who now had her back turned and was wiping the cat's paws with a cloth before allowing her back into the house. Emma grinned as she got a plan.
"Emma, come on!" Regina called, as she looked back at the child who was now hunched over, with her back to her.
"Coming Gina!" Emma said, standing. She rushed toward the house with her head down, and arms crossed over to abdomen. She hurried past Regina and tried to run across the floor with her muddy boots still on.
"Emma! Boots!" Regina cried. Emma stopped and kicked off her boots. She looked up at Regina, who raised an eyebrow, and then removed one hand from her abdomen to awkwardly try to pick up both boots and put them neatly by the door.
"Emma, are you alright?" Regina asked, suddenly concerned with the way the child was holding her stomach.
"Yes, fine," Emma said, keeping her head down.
"Why are you holding your tummy like that? Do you feel sick?" Regina asked, taking a step toward her. Emma took a couple steps back.
"No. Feel fine!" She insisted.
Before Regina could ask anything else, Emma let out a shriek and removed her hand. To Regina's horror, something small and green and slimy fell out of the child's shirt and started hopping away.
Regina closed her eyes and counted to ten in her head. Twice.
"Emma, please tell me that you didn't just bring a frog into my house."
Emma's eyes went wide and she looked down at her shirt. "I think he peed on me!"
"Do not move!" Regina said, in a tone that Emma wasn't about to mess with. Regina turned and saw the frog had left a trail of muddy hop-prints along his journey toward the kitchen. She ran in there and looked around, seeing no sign of the disgusting creature.
Nervously, she crouched down, and started looking under chairs. She gasped when she saw the ugly thing, and in yet another moment of temporary insanity – which she found she was becoming more prone to since this little Emma had arrived – she tried to reach for it with her bare hand.
She screamed as it jumped toward her and landed on her leg. Emma ran into the kitchen to see what was happening.
"Don't hurt it, Gina!" She cried.
Regina sighed and put her hand over the frog. It illuminated purple, and began to float, just ahead of Regina's fingers, as she stood. "I'm not going to hurt it, I'm putting it outside, where it belongs."
"I want to keep it!" Emma pouted.
"Emma, my home is not your personal animal sanctuary," Regina replied.
"But… I thought maybe he was a prince?"
Regina stopped walking and raised an eyebrow. She moved her fingers so that the glowing frog hovered inches from Emma's face. "Would you like to kiss him and find out?" she suggested.
Emma scrunched up her nose. "Ew! No!" she said, shaking her head and stepping back.
"That's what I thought. He goes back out."
Once the frog was out, Regina came back and lifted Emma up by her armpits. "You, my dear, are in dire need of a bath. I'll clean you, and then you get to help me clean up the mess your slimy friend made."
"That's not fair!" Emma pouted.
"You appear to have a misunderstanding of what the word 'fair' means," Regina remarked, as she headed through Emma's pink bedroom and put her down on the floor of the en suite bathroom.
Emma worked at taking off her dirty clothes as Regina stared the water and added bubbles. Emma looked at Regina with wide eyes as she lifted her into the tub. "Are you mad, Gina?"
"No sweetheart, I'm not mad. I understand things like snails and frogs are enticing when you're four."
"I'm five," Emma corrected, with a small scowl.
"You're five? Since when?"
Emma shrugged. "I dunno. In my dream last night I remembered turning five."
"Why didn't you say something?"
Emma shrugged again. "I didn't know it was important."
"Oh, Emma," Regina sighed. "Of course your birthday is important!"
"Really?" Emma asked, a small smile creeping up on her lips.
"Yes, really," Regina laughed. "We'll have to do something special for you tonight. Maybe we'll pick up a cake while we're out today."
Emma beamed. "Can it be a frog cake?"
Regina rolled her eyes and laughed. "If that's what you want."
"It is," Emma nodded. "Oh, and, Henry said you would like the snails."
"He did, did he?" Regina asked, smirking.
"Uh huh!" Emma nodded, emphatically.
"I see," Regina replied, as she lifted Emma back out of the tub and dried her off with a white fluffy towel. She waved her hand to magically conjure her favourite pretty little blue dress from the closet. "A pretty dress for the birthday girl."
Emma grinned as she put it on. Regina noted that she needed much less help getting dressed now. She only struggled with the buttons. She really was growing up. She had come so far from that terrified, silent little girl Henry had found lost, nearly a month ago.
Regina pulled Emma's blond curls into two bouncy pigtails, and then took her by the hand down the stairs.
"Do I have to clean the mess when I'm in my pretty dress?" Emma asked, looking worried at Regina.
"Use your magic," Regina said.
"How?"
"I think you can figure it out, can't you? You remember how we cleaned the crayon off the wall?"
Emma nodded, and focused on the mess on the floor. It took her a few moments, but she managed to make it vanish. She grinned up at Regina. "I did it! Are you proud of me?"
Regina scooped her up and squeezed her tight. "More than you'll ever know."
"And now we can go shopping?" Emma asked.
"Yes, darling. We'll get curtains and blankets and toys and a cake. And here I thought your cat was the spoiled one."
Emma smiled and hugged Regina tighter. Regina carried her out to the car. Suddenly, now that Emma was five and not four, Regina wanted to pick her up and carry her more, as the realization sank in that she wouldn't be little like this forever. Regina vowed, yet again, to make this time count. She was determined to give Emma an amazing fifth birthday, to make up for the one she seemed to think wasn't important enough to even mention.
What kind of foster parents could make a child think their birthday didn't matter?
Regina knew it wasn't worth obsessing over, since in reality, that happened twenty five years ago, but it just spurred her on even more to make this birthday memorable for Emma.
She didn't care if it meant she had to throw a birthday party every month, this Emma was going to grow up knowing that she actually mattered.
Regina took Emma to the linen store first. Emma wanted to get the cake first, and as a result, was now pouting, and dragging her feet as Regina tried to pull her by her hand through the store.
"Emma, will you please stop looking so sullen? We are here for you, remember?" Regina asked, slightly exasperated.
Emma pouted harder. "I want my cake."
"It doesn't make sense to get the cake first," Regina said, for about the seventh time since they had left the mansion. "It's hot out there, and the icing will melt. Do you want a melted frog?"
"No," Emma said, glaring at Regina.
"So we're in agreement, then? Cake last?"
"No," Emma repeated.
"Come and pick out some sheets for your bed," Regina said, motioning to the shelf.
"They're all ugly. I hate them," Emma said, as she refused to look at them.
"Emma Swan, what has gotten into you?" Regina asked. She wracked her brain trying to think what could have possibly happened between leaving the mansion and reaching the store. Then it occurred to her: Emma had fallen asleep on the couch while she had waited for Regina to get ready to leave. She hadn't mentioned a dream, but she must have had one, and that was causing the abrupt change in her behaviour.
She knelt down to meet Emma at eye level, and but Emma wouldn't look at her. "Emma, did you have a dream when you had your little nap on the couch."
"No," Emma said, still not looking at Regina.
"Baby, you can tell me if you did. Did something happen in your dream?"
"I didn't have a dream!" Emma yelled, ripping her hand out of Regina's and folding her arms defiantly in front of her chest.
"Okay," Regina said, standing slowly as people stopped and stared. She was well aware that the general consensus among the people of Storybrooke was that Emma should most certainly not be in her care, and she didn't really want to give them more of a reason to think that. "Well, my dear, if you won't pick out sheets, then I will have to pick some for you."
Emma shrugged. "Don't care."
"Fine," Regina said, pulling a couple sheet sets from the shelf. She concerned herself more with thread count than what was on the sheets. If Emma didn't care what they looked like, Regina figured she could at least be comfortable when she slept.
"Would you like to pick out your own duvet cover?" Regina asked, leading Emma toward the next shelf. Emma stood and stared, not answering, until Regina gave up and pulled one off the shelf. It was yellow with small flowers.
"No!" Emma cried when she saw it. "I hate that one!"
"Then pick one you like, or this is the one you're getting," Regina said.
Emma took a moment to actually look at her options, before selecting a yellow, white and pink striped cover. Regina sighed and took it from her. She wondered if she was wasting her money on all this pink, knowing the adult Emma's aversion to the colour. She hoped she might get a few years out of this stuff, which, she realized, would only amount to a few months, at most.
Emma refused to help pick out new curtains, so Regina went with white, sheer ones, hoping they would help tone down the colour of the walls a tad. Emma sulked as Regina paid for the items and they headed back to the car.
"Cake store now?" Emma asked, hopefully.
"Emma, I already told you. We're getting the cake last. I promised you some new toys, but…" Regina stopped herself before finishing with I'm not sure you deserve them. She tried to remind herself that this little girl had been through hell already in her short life, and that this little temper tantrum didn't change that. Emma wasn't your average petulant child. She had a reason.
"But what?" Emma asked, looking up with hurt in her eyes.
"But, we won't be able to do that if we get the cake now," Regina recovered. "So how about the toy store first?"
Emma nodded, and got into the backseat, strapping herself into the car seat. Regina sighed as she got into her seat and started the car. She had wanted to make this a fun experience for Emma, and she tried to remind herself that not every memory she could provide for her was going to be perfect. It was a hard realization to come to, however, since she was well aware she didn't have all that much time to create new, better memories for Emma. She had already aged one year since Henry had found her.
To Regina's relief, Emma seemed to perk up as they reached the toy store. She grinned as Regina opened the door for her, and didn't resist Regina taking her by the hand.
"Now, you stay with me, Little One," Regina instructed, "and don't touch anything. We look with our eyes, not our hands, understand?"
Emma nodded, though Regina wasn't sure she was actually listening. Regina pulled a cart from the corral up at the front, assuming that they would be buying more than a few things, since the child had nothing of her own.
Emma excitedly picked out some dolls and books and stuffed toys. She also picked out some cars and superhero action figures, but Regina put her foot down that no toy guns would be entering her home. Emma sulked, but reluctantly followed Regina away from the display anyway.
"This will probably cost a million dollars," Emma commented, looking at the cartful of toys as they headed to the check out.
Regina laughed. "Not quite, honey."
"The Daddy says he's not made of money," Emma remarked, looking up at Regina with solemn eyes.
"The Daddy from your last dream?" Regina asked.
Emma nodded, as she played with the metal on the cart, poking her fingers though to touch the packaging on the toys inside. "I ripped another shirt and he said I couldn't have new clothes because I don't app- … appr…" Emma stammered, trying to get the unfamiliar word out.
"Appreciate?" Regina suggested.
"Uh huh. I don't appresh-diate the things I have. And he's not made of money."
Regina shook her head in disbelief, knowing full well that foster families receive money for the children they foster, to cover basic needs like clothing.
"Did the Daddy say anything else?" Regina asked.
Emma bit her lip and shook her head quickly, and Regina wasn't convinced. Whatever had happened, she knew she was going to have to get it out of Emma sooner or later, but the check out at a toy store was not the time or place.
Once the bags of toys were loaded into the trunk, it was time to pick up the cake. Regina had called ahead to the bakery to order the frog cake, and though she thought it was hideous, Emma loved it, and that was all that mattered.
"Who's gonna come to my party?" Emma asked, as they headed back to the mansion.
"Your parents and Henry," Regina said.
Emma slouched down and pouted again.
"Who else were you expecting? You don't know anyone else," Regina said, matter-of-factly.
"I don't want my parents to come," she said.
"Why?" Regina asked, suddenly concerned.
"Because."
Regina sighed as she pulled into the drive way. She opened the door for Emma, and pulled out the cake.
"What about my toys?" Emma asked, as she watched Regina head toward the door.
"We have to get the cake inside first, Emma. We'll come back for them," Regina promised. Emma looked like she might cry as she watched Regina putting the cake in the fridge.
"Emma, what is it?" she asked, as she turned back to the child.
"You're not going to keep me!" Emma cried out, suddenly.
"What are you talking about?" Regina asked, dropping to her knees in front of the now sobbing child.
"The Daddy said no one will ever want me!" Emma wailed. "He said I'm more trouble than I'm worth and no one will keep me and that's why my Mommy and Daddy didn't want me!"
"Oh, Emma," Regina sighed, wrapping her arms around the trembling child before picking her up and rocking her from side to side. "That Daddy was an idiot. You're Mommy and Daddy do want you and so do I and so does Henry."
Emma shook her head vigorously. "Nobody wants me."
"I do," Regina repeated. "Would I have gone to the trouble of painting your room and buying you new things and letting you have a pet if I didn't want you?"
Emma sniffed a few times. "I want to stay with you, forever. I don't want to go back to Mommy and Daddy's."
"Why?" Regina asked.
"They have Neal, they don't want me. I heared them say they're scared of my magic. They think it's bad and I don't want to go there!"
Regina cringed, silently cursing the two idiots for talking about Emma's magic when she could hear them. She made a mental note to reprimand them for it, later. She wanted to promise Emma right then and there that she would never send her home with the Charmings again, if that's not what she wanted, but she was well aware she wasn't in the position to make that promise. She would have to speak with them. Tonight.
Once Emma calmed down, and they got the toys brought inside, Regina used her magic to poof the furniture back into Emma's bedroom, and she set about putting up the curtains and putting the new sheets on the bed while Emma played with Spiderman and Ballerina Barbie.
"I think it's time for a nap, so you're ready for your party tonight," Regina said, pulling back the new duvet and patting the sheets underneath. Emma reluctantly walked over, carrying Spiderman and Barbie with her. Regina laid down on the bed next to her, as she pulled the covers up to her neck.
"Give me a good night kiss?" Emma asked. Regina smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "And Barbie?" Emma asked, holding up the doll. Regina kissed the doll, and tucked it in next to Emma. "And Spidey?" Emma asked, holding up Spiderman. Regina gave him and kiss, too, and tucked him in next to Barbie. "And.." Emma started.
"No more 'ands'. Everyone is kissed and tucked in. Now it's time to sleep."
"But I'm scared," Emma pouted.
"I'm right here," Regina reminded her. "And when you sleep, I'll be right here," she said, holding up the pendant on the necklace on Emma's neck.
Emma smiled. "And I'll be right here," she said, touching the swan pendant on her necklace around Regina's neck.
"Yes, you will. Now sleep, so we can have your party tonight."
Emma closed her eyes.
"Emma!" the father's voice bellowed from the den. "Get me a beer!"
Emma rose slowly from her spot on the floor, where she was playing with a one-legged Spiderman action figure, and trudged into the kitchen to open the fridge.
"There isn't any!" she yelled back.
"For crying out loud!" the father yelled. She scurried back into the other room as he came into the kitchen to check for himself. "Tiffany!" he yelled up the stairs, to the mother. "I thought you got a case of beer yesterday!"
"That was two days ago!" she screamed back. Emma covered her ears. They were always yelling.
"For shit sake! I'm going to the store!"
"Take that little brat with you!" Tiffany screamed back. The father walked into the other room and grabbed Emma by the arm, without warning.
"Come on," he barked, pulling her out to the pick-up. He lifted her by one arm into the cabin and she scooted over to the far side as he got in. The passenger seat belt was broken, so Emma held on to the door as the father peeled out of the drive way and headed to the beer store.
He left her in the car as he went inside, and came out with two cases minutes later. He cracked open and beer and put in in the console, before putting the two cases on the floor under Emma's feet.
"Can we stop there?" Emma asked, pointing to a McDonalds out the window.
"Why would we stop there?" The father asked, glancing around for cops before taking a swig of his beer.
"I'm hungry," Emma whined.
"You better stop whining if you know what's good for you," he retorted. He hadn't laid a hand on Emma, to this point, but Emma knew enough to never take threats like that lightly.
She watched out the window as McDonald's faded from view, and they headed off down the long stretch of road back to the farm house. It was a farm house because it had a barn, but it didn't have any animals. Emma had heard the mother blame the father for that in nearly every argument that they had.
"If you don't stop pouting, I'll drop you right off on the side of the damn road, just like your parents did," the father warned. "We didn't pick out a pretty little blonde haired girl to end up with a petulant little brat."
Emma tried her best to smile convincingly as they pulled up the winding driveway to the house, but she didn't want to win these people over. She didn't want to stay there.
Absently, her hand found the pendant on her neck, and she remembered Regina.
That's where she wanted to stay.
Forever.