I am so totally blown away that this story has reached 800 followers. You guys have no idea how much this means to me, so thank you so, so much!

Sorry updates are slow sometimes, but as of last week I'm now working two jobs, so I'm trying my best, but there's only so many hours in the day!

But, without further ado, more little Emma (because none of us can get enough lol)

Chapter Seventeen

Regina brought Emma to the convent to meet with the fairies as soon as they'd dropped Henry off at school. Technically, Emma should have been in school now as well, but she was now too old for kindergarten, and would have to switch grades today anyway, and Regina knew finding a solution to the dream memory problem was a far more pressing issue at this point.

Emma held onto Regina's hand as tightly as she could as they approached the building.

"Little One, if you don't want to do this, I'll drop you off to hang out with Ruby at the diner for a little while, and come back to get you when I'm done," Regina offered one last time, knowing the little girl had developed a fascination for the waitress. Regina wasn't sure if it was actually Ruby that she liked, or just the fact that Ruby brought her food and gave her free ice cream.

But Emma held her head high as they continued to walk. "Uh-uh. I'm brave. And I know the fairies can't hurt me because you'll protect me."

"Yes, I will, Emma. But they aren't going to try to hurt you," Regina promised as she pushed the door open.

Blue met her at the door, and nodded with a small smile as they stepped inside, Emma eyeing her suspiciously the whole time.

"Good morning, Emma," Blue attempted, but Emma just pursed her lips shut and moved closer to Regina's legs.

"Let's just get down to business," Regina suggested, as she reached down and scooped Emma up, placing her on her hip. At six, Emma was almost getting too big to carry, which bothered Regina a little, but she knew it was inevitable, with Emma aging as rapidly as she was.

"Right," Blue nodded, stepping over to the table where she had a book open. "Well, after you called this morning, I got in contact with Y-E-L-L-O-W in the E-N-C-H-A-N-T-E-D F-O-R-E-S-T," Blue explained, spelling the name of Emma's most hated and feared fairy, since Regina had mentioned during their conversation earlier that Emma still hadn't made peace with what had happened in that situation.

Emma pouted, partly because she didn't like people spelling things out in front of her, and partly because she had a suspicion of who they were talking about. She might not know how to spell Yellow, but she knew that Blue talked to her from time to time, which is how she had ended up going through the well in the first place.

She guessed she really should be happy about that, at this point, since if she'd never gone through there, she'd never have found her parents, or met Henry or Regina or Kitty Soft Paws… but Emma was still determined to hate that fairy with every fibre of her being, regardless.

"Did she have anything to offer?" Regina asked, hopefully.

"Actually, yes," Blue informed her, indicating a spell in the open book where she'd made some notes. "As it turns out, the same thing was happening to her there, as here, and she used this spell to suppress the memories completely. Now, I'm sure that's not actually what you want to happen, or else Emma's going to miss out on a fairly huge chunk of her life and education."

Regina sighed and nodded. As much as she'd like to take away all of Emma's bad memories, aging another twenty four years over the course of twenty four months would create a huge problem, if Emma didn't have her real life experiences as well.

"So, we figured out a modification. She'll dream normal dreams like you and I, and her memories will just return to her, gradually. By the time she's seven, all her six year old memories will have returned, but a little more subtly… they'll just kind of be… there. She won't have to relive them."

Regina nodded, smiling. "That's exactly what I want. Emma, did you…" Regina's voice trailed off as she noticed Emma dozing off in her arms. The child was exhausted, but Regina couldn't let her sleep, knowing what memory she was about to wake up in if she did. "Emma! Wake up."

Emma jumped, startled, and blinked at Regina, confused. "I wasn't sleeping."

"You were falling asleep, and I need you to stay awake," Regina insisted. "Blue can help. She can make it so you don't have to go away in your dreams anymore. I just need you to stay awake a little while longer."

"Well, actually, it's more than a little while," Blue informed her. "It's a potion she'll need to drink. I have Astrid gathering the ingredients now, but it will be late afternoon at the earliest before we'll be ready."

"Okay, well, then we'll just have to stay awake til then, won't we Emma?" Regina said, trying to smile encouragingly at the little girl in her arms. "It will be a game, how long can we stay awake."

Emma pouted. "I'm too sleepy for this game."

Regina sighed. "I know you're sleepy, Baby. How about we go to Granny's and get some ice cream. Will that wake you up?"

Emma grinned. "Ice cream before lunch? That will wake me up!"

"Call me the second the potion is ready," Regina instructed Blue, as she turned to leave the convent.

Emma's eyes grew wide as Ruby brought over her bowl of ice cream. The little girl was amazed that Regina had actually allowed her to have ice cream in the morning, assuming it had just been some sort of ploy, but sure enough, there it was in front of her.

"Do not get used to this, Little One. This is a one time thing, so enjoy it for today, understand?"

Emma nodded, grinning and she dug into the bowl.

"After this, we'll go to the park and play, how does that sound?" Regina offered, trying to think of things that would keep Emma's short attention span.

"How 'bout we go to the docks and feed the duckies?" Emma countered.

"Fine," Regina conceded, "so long as you do not ask to bring a single one home with you. Understood?"

Emma gave her a playful pout. "You're ruining my ice cream with all your dumb rules," Emma informed her. "And I wasn't even going to ask for a duck, anyway."

"Good."

Emma smiled as she spotted Ruby making her way over to their booth.

"Hey, Kiddo," Ruby greeted, sliding into the booth next to her. "Mind if I join you for my break?"

Emma nodded, and slid over to give Ruby a little more room, as the waitress and Regina exchanged greetings.

"So, Emma," Ruby said, grinning at the sight of her covered in ice cream. "Have you decided what you're going to dress up as for Halloween?"

Emma's eyes grew wide as she looked up at Regina, questioningly. "It's it soon going to be Halloween?"

"In a couple weeks," Regina nodded.

A big smile spread across Emma's little face. "Then it's soon gonna be my birthday!" she declared.

Of course she was right, Regina realized. Emma's birthday was nine days before Halloween, though she wasn't actually going to turn seven in this time. She supposed there would be no harm in throwing her a seventh birthday anyway, as she would reach seven in a few more weeks, anyway. And they'd missed her sixth, after all.

"Birthday and Halloween," Ruby commented. "Lucky girl."

"But now I hafta think of a costume," Emma said, solemnly, as if this was the most serious decision she'd ever had to make. Regina supposed, in a way, it really was, as six year olds didn't have a lot of pressing decisions to make.

"Maybe you could be a Sheriff?" Regina suggested.

Emma scrunched up her nose in distaste for the idea. "Nuh-uh. That's dumb."

"Emma, I really wish you would stop telling me my ideas are dumb," Regina sighed, earning a sharp laugh from Ruby. Regina raised an eyebrow at the younger brunette.

"Sorry, Regina, it's just funny, you know?"

"It's funny that Emma sasses me?"

"No, I mean… some things just never change. She still worships the ground you walk on, but she also still knows how to get her digs in when she wants to. Only, you can't do it back now, can you?" Ruby explained, shaking her head at the absurdity of the whole situation. She had spent some time with Emma and Snow, but she hadn't seen much of the Mayor bantering with the pint-sized Savior as of yet.

"I see," Regina said, wondering exactly what Ruby meant by Emma still worshipping the ground she walked on, but she couldn't be bothered to ask for clarification. She guessed, at this point, it didn't really matter what Ruby had meant by that, anyway.

"Well, on that note, it's time for me to get back to work," Ruby informed them, even though Regina was sure her break was far from over. She was sure Ruby just wanted to exit an awkward situation that she'd created.

"Bye Ruby!" Emma waved after her, before finishing the last bite of her ice cream. "Okay! Let's go feed the duckies!"

Regina led Emma by the hand to the dock, a bag full of stale bread from the diner in her other hand. It was a clear day, and to Emma's delight, there were lots of ducks out.

"Gina! Look!" Emma cried, practically dragging Regina to the edge of the pier.

"Emma, please be careful," Regina insisted. "Don't go so close to the edge. That water is very deep."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna fall!" she said, holding her hand out for some bread.

Regina set the bag down and reached in, pulling out a piece and handing it to Emma.

"Gina! You hafta let go of my hand! I can't rip the bread up with one hand!" Emma said, pulling hard in an attempt to free herself from Regina's grip. Regina sighed and relented, though she kept a very close eye on Emma as she started tossing chunks of bread into the water.

Emma laughed as the ducks clamoured over, quacking loudly as they attacked the pieces of bread raining over them. Several times, Regina guided Emma back from the edge, as the little girl got too excited and jumped closer, giving Regina a mini-heart attack every time.

They were almost out of bread when Emma spotted something out of the corner of her eye. "Gina! Look! Swans!" Emma cried, pointing at the group of white swans making there way over from the right. Before Regina could even react, Emma was dashing off in the direction of the swans.

"Emma!" Regina screamed as Emma tripped and toppled over, shrieking as she went headfirst over the side of the pier.

"Emma!" Regina screamed again, dropping to her knees, looking over the side into the water below. She was about to jump in after her when she saw Emma's flailing arms resurface, and Regina wasted no time using her magic to pull Emma back up and into the safety of her arms.

Emma wailed as she grabbed onto Regina, holding on as tightly as she possibly could. Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's shivering, soaking wet body, holding her tight against her chest.

"Shh, baby, it's okay, I've got you. You're okay," Regina soothed, rocking her back and forth, as Emma continued to sob. "I'm right here, baby girl. You're safe."

Regina poofed Emma into dry clothes as her sobs diminished, and she poofed a warm blanket around her as well, before standing up with her still tightly wrapped in her arms, and continuing to rock her.

"I just wanted to look closer," Emma said softly into Regina's ear.

"I know, baby, I know," Regina said, running her fingers through Emma's wet hair. "Everything's okay."

"You saved my life."

"Well, you would have done the same for me," Regina informed her, knowing for a fact it was true, and that Emma had saved her before, even if she didn't remember.

Regina took Emma home, and kept her awake for the afternoon with several riveting rounds of Candyland in a row. Despite how much Regina hated Candyland, there was no way Emma could nearly down playing a board game, and Regina would have willingly played it for days on end at this point, as the fluttery panicked feeling hadn't completely left her just yet.

By 2pm, Emma was struggling to keep her eyes open, as the doorbell rang. To Regina's relief, it was Blue, with the potion, which she informed Regina would 'probably' work. Regina rolled her eyes as she shut the door, vowing to personally destroy the pixie if this potion was unsuccessful.

She called Emma into the living room and gave her the potion to drink - which Emma informed her tasted like boogers and dirt - before pulling the Little One up onto her lap and wrapping her up in a blanket.

"Okay, Emma, it's time to sleep now," Regina told her. "And we'll see if this potion worked. If it doesn't, I don't want you to be afraid, because you still have your necklace to protect you."

Emma nodded and reached up for her swan necklace around Regina's neck, clutching it tight. "I'm just gonna hold on… just in case I need to call you to me again."

"Okay Baby," Regina agreed, as she started rubbing Emma's back to help her fall asleep. It didn't take long, as Emma was exhausted from her rough night the night before and her eventful day today, and Regina sat and held her, nervously, for the entire two hours that she napped.

She wasn't sure if Emma could pull her into her dream if she was still awake, but she was far too nervous to sleep, so she just held onto Emma and waited.

After two hours had passed, Emma's eyes began to flutter open, and she looked up at Regina and smiled. "It worked," she whispered, her smile growing bigger. "I didn't go away! I dreamed about Kitty Soft Paws! She could talk and she played Candyland and I let her win and you were there and you said that's wasn't fair because I never let you win! Gina… why are you crying?"

Regina wiped a tear from her eye as she smiled down at Emma. "Because I am so happy, Baby. Now you never have to go away again. You just get to stay here, in Storybrooke, where you're safe and loved."

Emma snuggled in against Regina and nodded. "I just want to stay here forever."

"Welcome home, Emma."

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to who or what Emma will dress up as for Halloween? I have already decided, btw, I just want to see if anyone thinks like me ;) lol