Chapter Twenty Seven

By the time Emma was ten, Regina was already starting to see some of her old personality returning to her. Though she was still a carefree kid, for the most part, it was hard to miss that familiar challenging glint in her eye, or the facial expressions that were oh-so-Emma. As much as she knew Henry wanted his other mother back, Regina couldn't help but feel it was a little bittersweet. She'd made peace with the fact that Emma was going to be an adult again, sooner rather than later, but Regina was already starting to miss the little girl she'd been.

Ten year old Emma was fiercely independent, as strong willed and opinionated as ever, and Regina couldn't help but notice a change in her demeanor. Emma was becoming more guarded, and a little less trusting, and Regina knew that had to be a side effect of more and more memories of being given back time and time again coming back to her.

Despite the fact that Emma still actively chose to split her time between Regina's house and her parents' loft, both Regina and Snow were aware of how distant she was becoming.

"I don't understand it," Snow said, as she sat across from Regina at Granny's diner on her lunch break from work, utterly dismayed at the seemingly sudden change in her daughter. "Everything was fine, and she was so happy."

"Something's going on that she's not telling us," Regina quickly agreed.

"Well, if someone's going to get it out of her, it's probably going to be you. You always have a way of getting through to her."

Regina sighed and nodded. She knew it still bothered Snow a little how close Emma had become to her, even if they'd moved past it for the most part. "Whichever of us can, it's going to have to be soon. One day to us is weeks for her. If something's going on in her previous memories, we can't let her struggle with it on her own. Why don't you see if she wants to sleep over at my place tonight? If nothing else, her cats can usually cheer her up."

Of course, Emma had accepted the invitation, because she did still love going to Regina's, and Regina was working on preparing dinner when she heard the door swing open, and the distinct sound of Emma kicking her shoes off in the entry way.

"Put your shoes away, Emma," Regina called from the kitchen. She didn't even have to look to know Emma had just left them where she'd kicked them off. She was so much like Henry had been at ten.

"Kay!" Emma called back. "Sorry, Regina."

Regina stopped short. "What did you call me?" she asked as Emma entered the kitchen, her bag packed for the night slung over her shoulder.

"Uh, your name?" Emma responded, looking utterly confused.

Regina shook her head. "You've never called me Regina. It's always just Gina."

Emma shrugged. "I'm not four anymore, either. Where's Henry?"

"In his room."

Regina watched as Emma took off in the other direction, off to find Henry. She stood for a moment, feeling the sting of loss. Emma certainly wasn't four anymore, and not for the first time, Regina wondered if anything would really be different between them when Emma was finally back to herself. Sure, they'd made some good memories, but Emma was certainly going to grow up to be Emma all over again, and Regina wasn't sure she was ready for that.

Still, Regina shook it off. Kids had to grow up, and Emma had to do it quicker than most, but she'd been through this before. She'd had to learn to hold on to Henry a little less tightly, and let their relationship evolve on its own, and she was sure she could do the same with Emma. They had formed a bond, afterall, and Regina tried to remind herself that it was still strong.

At dinner, she tried again to get Emma talking.

"How was school today, little one?"

And Emma shrugged. "Okay, I guess. But I'm not that little anymore, you know."

"You don't like your nickname anymore?"

"I'm not a baby."

"Of course you're not. But you don't need to be a baby to have a nickname."

Emma looked down at the food on her plate, poking at it with her fork.

"Emma."

"What?" Emma asked, her voice rife with annoyance as she looked up and met Regina's eyes again.

"Something is clearly bothering you. Would you like to talk about it?"

Emma glanced at Henry across the table, and then looked down at her plate. "Nothing's bothering me. I'm fine."

Regina sighed, deciding perhaps it wasn't wise to push her too much, at least not in front of Henry. "Fine."

The three of them continued dinner in awkward silence, until Henry asked to be excused, and Emma took off after him. Regina expected Emma to follow Henry back upstairs to his room to hang out with him some more, but instead she took off toward the family room. Moments later, Regina heard the TV turn on and she shook her head.

This was not typical Emma behaviour, she thought to herself as she cleared the dishes, and it reminded her a lot of how Henry had behaved when he first learned he was adopted. It had been a tough time for him, even before he'd gotten the story book and figured it all out. He'd struggled with feelings of abandonment and he'd grown distant then, too. She remembered all too many silent dinners and one word answers back then, as he attempted to reconcile his feelings.

But with Emma, she knew, there was more than just feelings of abandonment. She'd been given up and rejected so many times already, and Regina couldn't imagine the toll that must be taking on her now.

As she worked on the dishes, Regina watched the dark clouds rolling in through the kitchen window. She knew Emma wasn't a fan of storms in the first place, and they were in for a wicked one tonight, which wasn't going to make anything easier. Regina had been hoping it might blow over, but from the looks of the sky now, she knew that was unlikely.

By the time she'd finished the dishes and put the leftovers in the fridge, the sky had turned an eerie shade of green and she could hear thunder rumbling in the distance. She hung her dish towel on the oven door, and set off to check on Emma, who had no doubt noticed the impending weather by now.

Sure enough, when she entered the family room, she found Emma on the couch, knees up pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them, as she stared wide eyed at the weather network she had on the TV.

"Emma."

Emma jumped and whipped her head around. "There's a big storm coming."

Regina nodded. "I know, honey. But it's alright. We're safe in here, you know that."

Emma pouted and hugged her knees tighter as lightning flashed bright outside the window, followed shortly after by thunder.

"It's really close," Emma noted, as the rain started to come down. It pelted against the windows hard and loud and Emma shivered.

Regina picked up the remote and turned the TV off. "Come on, let's go get some flashlights ready in case the power goes out."

Emma got up quickly and followed Regina back out of the room. Regardless of whatever what going on with her, she definitely didn't want to be far away from Regina during a storm. Regina put her arm around Emma's shoulder as she lead her to one of the hall closets, where she kept flashlights and batteries.

The rain was coming down in sheets and the power was already starting to flicker as Regina was putting the batteries in the first flashlight. It was only moments later that her phone was ringing, with Snow calling to see if Emma was alright. Regina handed Emma to the phone to talk to her mother as she worked on the next flashlight.

"Mom," Henry said, as he made his way over to her. "This storm's getting brutal already."

Regina nodded, holding up a flashlight. "I know. That's why we're getting prepared."

Henry nodded as the power flickered again. Then he got an idea. "Maybe we should go camping?"

"Camping?!" Emma repeated, as she ended the call with her mother. "I'm not going outside in this!"

"No, honey, we're not going outside. It's something Henry and I used to do during storms when he was younger." Regina turned back to Henry, handing him a flashlight. "Do you know where the tent is?"

Henry grinned and nodded, heading toward the garage.

"Come on, Emma," Regina said, as she handed a flashlight to Emma, and kept one for herself. "We've got to get blankets, pillows, water and snacks."

"Okay…" Emma said, a little unsure of what they were doing, but following Regina to the linen closet anyway.

By the time they'd gathered everything up, and headed back to the family room, Henry already had the couch pushed out of the way and the tent set up in the middle of the room.

"You wanna camp in the house?" Emma asked, looking at Regina in complete shock.

Another loud crack of thunder, and the power flickered again.

"Yes," Regina replied, with a smile. "This is what Henry and I used to do whenever it stormed. We get all cozy inside the tent with our blankets and our flashlights, and if the power goes out, we're safe inside."

Emma turned back to the tent and nodded. "That's not a bad idea," she acknowledged.

"So glad you approve," Regina said, with a laugh. "Now let's get everything inside."

Regina smiled as she watched Emma eagerly help get everything situated inside the tent. For a moment, she caught a glimpse of that carefree little girl she'd been missing, as Emma grinned and claimed a spot right in the middle, between Henry and herself.

Once they were settled inside and the tent was zipped shut, the storm was all but forgotten as they snuggled into the blankets. Regina had thought to grab some books, as well as her phone and Henry's. To her surprise, Henry opted to pick up a book instead of his phone.

"Emma, you're ten now," Henry said, as he rolled onto his front and popped himself up on his elbows and opened one of the books, clicking on his flashlight and shining it onto the pages. "I think it's about time we started reading Harry Potter."

Regina sighed as Henry began reading aloud. Harry Potter had never really been one of her favourites, but she knew Henry loved the books, and he'd mentioned before that Emma did too. Even if she didn't care for the book herself, she wasn't about to complain about listening to her son read aloud anyway, since it wasn't something he often did with her anymore.

And Emma was enthralled. Regina could still hear the thunder and rain outside, but Emma seemed to have forgotten that there even was a storm and she hung on Henry's every word.

"Emma, why don't you read the next chapter, and let Henry have a break?" Regina suggested, after Henry had read a substantial chunk of the book.

"Okay," Emma agreed, quickly taking the book from him and taking over.

Henry appeared grateful for the break, and once Emma had finished her chapter, she handed the book to Regina for the next one. Two chapters later, and Regina glanced up to find Henry had dozed off, and Emma looked like she was about to join him.

"Maybe that's enough for one night," Regina said, closing the book.

"What? Already?" Emma asked through a barely stifled yawn. "I'm not even tired yet."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

Emma nodded. "Yes!"

Regina paused, and smiled. "Listen."

"I don't hear anything."

"Exactly," Regina agreed. "The storm's over."

To her surprise, Emma looked disappointed when she simply replied with, "oh."

"I thought you'd be relieved."

Emma shrugged. "I dunno. Camping is kinda fun."

"Well, we don't have to leave the tent just because the storm ended."

"Really?" Emma smiled again. "You'll sleep here on the floor."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Thanks, Gina."

Regina smiled, relieved to hear Emma use her nickname again, though it reminded her of the real reason Emma was there tonight in the first place. "Sweetheart, can we talk a little bit before you go to sleep?"

Emma stiffened. "About what?"

"About what's been bothering you lately."

Emma's smile faded quickly, and for a moment Regina regretted bringing it up again at all. This time, however, Emma began to talk. "Gina, um… you remember when Henry first found me at the well and brought me here?"

"Of course I do," Regina said, reaching over to gently stroke Emma's hair as she spoke.

"And you didn't know my name or who I was."

"No, not yet. You wouldn't even talk to me right away."

"But then you figured out who I was and that you already knew me," Emma continued.

Regina nodded, still unsure of where Emma was going with this. "Yes, after a few days, we did."

Emma nodded, and furrowed her brow, thinking about how to express what she wanted to say next. "Gina… what would you have done if I wasn't Emma? What if I wasn't your friend who came back? What if I wasn't magic and I was just a regular kid and I didn't have any parents and I was just another orphan and there was nothing special about me? Would you have still let me stay?"

Emma's voice cracked, and Regina pulled her into her arms and hugged her close. "Yes, of course I would have, Emma," she said, stroking her hair again. "You have never been just an orphan. You've always been special."

Emma shook her head against Regina's shoulder. "Uh-uh. I wasn't special when I was an orphan. I was just another kid in the system and no one ever wanted me. Not when I was four, not when I was five, not when I was six… when you're ten, you don't get adopted."

"Is this what you've been so upset about?"

Emma nodded. "It's hard to remember that it was really a long time ago, when I remember being sent back to the group home yesterday, or last week, or last month… over and over and over. I'm just the girl that no one wanted, not even her own parents."

"You know that's not true, Emma."

"I know that now, but the me that just got sent back again, she doesn't know. And even if she did… people shouldn't want a kid only because it's theirs. They shouldn't have to have it to love it. Someone could have loved me even if they didn't have me."

"I think what you're trying to express, is that biology doesn't matter. And you're right, Emma, it doesn't. I didn't have Henry and I love him more than anything."

Emma sniffed, and moved back to look at Regina's face. "Henry's adopted?"

Regina smiled and nodded. "Yes. And it doesn't matter, because biology isn't what makes a family. And Emma, every single family that sent you back, they're all idiots, every one of them, because they missed out on having you in their lives. You've always been special, and I would have kept you forever, no matter what."

"Promise?"

"Of course I do, baby. And little one, I need you to promise me something, too."

"What?"

Regina sighed. "Things are probably going to be hard on you for a while, and I need you to promise you're not going to shut me out. I need you to talk to me, so I can help you deal with the bad things."

"I promise," Emma whispered, resting her head on Regina's shoulder again. "You always make me feel better."

"Good. Now it's time to try to get some sleep. Good night, my sweet girl."

"G'night, Gina."

Regina smiled as she placed a kiss on Emma's forehead, and she thought back to all the worries she'd been having lately, about where she'd ultimately fit into Emma's life once this was all over. Emma didn't need another mother, she already had one, but Regina realized that she could be something for Emma that Emma had always been searching for and had never quite found: she could be the person who loved her unconditionally, not because of a biological family tie, but because she wanted to.

Emma might have been slowly growing into the person Regina had once known, but now Regina realized she had a chance to not only give Emma some security and some good childhood memories, but she could give her something else entirely. She could give her a chance to grow into an adult who didn't carry so much pain with her everywhere she went. She could give her a chance to feel wanted, and worthy.

And loved.