Thank you so much for the reviews and encouragement to keep going. I've never done a DQ story, but I love the idea of little Emma and Mama Mal (as those of you who read my other stories probably already know), so I wanted to explore the idea of Regina being mom to Emma instead of lover, like all my SQ stories. I LOVE writing Little Emma, so for me, this is just a fun one to write. There will be angst and conflict, but there will also be love. So much love. I'm very open to ideas/prompts any of you may have, so don't hold back in your reviews or PMs.

Read~Enjoy~Reviwe

Chapter 2

Emma wanted to just forget all her worries and have fun with her new foster sister, but due to past experience, she was scared to have fun. "I think I'm gonna go to my room, Lilly."

Lilly gave a nod and then got up. "Wait!" She ran over to her bed and pulled off a teddy bear. She brought it over and handed it to Emma. "I have lots of these and you don't has none. Take him and he'll make you feel happy."

Emma took it and smiled. "Thank you. I'm sorry, I just feel scared and so I wanna be by myself for a while."

"It's okay, we can play later." Lilly watched Emma go and then sighed before going downstairs. She came into the kitchen and climbed up on the barstool. "Mommy? Why is Emma scared?"

Mal and Regina both looked at their little one as Regina moved over to the counter. "Why do you think she's scared?"

"Cuz she said she was. She said she's scared at new houses and doesn't know rules and stuff. But why is that scary? If she doesn't know, you'd just tell her. Nothing bad would happen."

Mal took the kettle off the stove and put it into the oven before coming over and leaning on the counter. "Honey, Emma's lived in a few homes before she came here and some of the people she lived with weren't very nice to her. I think at some homes, if she didn't know the rules, they'd get very cross with her."

Lilly looked at her Mama with big eyes. "Would they hurt her?"

Mal sighed. "Sometimes, yes. Honey, I'm only telling you this because it's the truth and because I want you to try and understand Emma. She's probably scared because she thinks she'll get hurt like she did before. You and Mommy and I can tell her that won't happen, but because it happened in the past, she won't believe us right away."

"How will she believe us?"

"In time. In time she will see that we mean what we say, and she won't be hurt. We have to earn her trust, Lilly bee, and that just takes time." Regina said softly. "All we can do is be kind to her and show her we want her here."

Lilly sniffed a bit. "It makes me so sad that people hurted her, Mommy. She's just a little girl like me, why would anyone hurt her?"

Mal came over and pulled Lilly into her arms. "There are some very bad people out there, Lilly, but you don't have to worry about that. Neither does Emma, not anymore."

"I think I'm going to go check on our new little one." Regina stated, for even if she wouldn't admit it, the little one had already gotten to her as well.

"She said she wanted to be alone." Lilly said, wiping at her eyes.

"She maybe said that, but I think she'll actually want to be comforted." Regina said, softly kissing Lilly's forehead. "You help Mama finish up supper, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy."

Regina went upstairs and softly knocked at Emma's door. "Emma honey? Can I come in?"

"Yeah, it's your house." Emma answered softly.

Regina chuckled and opened the door. She saw Emma laying over the covers on her bed cuddling with a rather dirty looking blanket and one of Lilly's teddy bears. "It may be my house, love, but this is your room. You decide who comes in and who doesn't." She came in and sat on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay, Emma?"

Emma watched her with wide eyes and a thumb in her mouth the whole time. "I just wanna be good. If I stay in here and don't do nothing, then I'll be good, and you won't hate me and get mad at me."

Regina felt her heart break a bit for the girl. "Honey, I know you've had foster parents do some very mean things to you before. Mal and I aren't like that, Emma, we won't hurt you. If we do get upset, we'll tell you and work it out together, but we won't yell or hit you ever. You know what else? We won't hate you either."

Emma listened and let out a sigh. "They all say that at first."

"I know it will take time for you to trust us, but we don't want you to sit up here all alone all the time." Regina said and then looked at the bear. "Is that from Lilly's room?"

Emma sat up so fast and got off the bed. "She gived it to me. I swear, she said I could have it. I didn't take it!" Her eyes filled with tears as fear captured her. "I'm not a robber, I didn't take it."

Regina could tell the girl was on the verge of a panic attack and she kept her voice light. "Honey, I didn't say you stole it. I'm not mad, I just wondered because I thought maybe you could name him."

Emma barely heard what Regina said as she threw the bear on the bed. "She can have it back. I didn't take it. Please, don't hurt me." Emma looked down as she felt something warm and wet on her leg and realized she had just wet herself. She started breathing fast and shallow. "No…no no no no!" She looked up at Regina, fear written all over her little face. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that. I'm so sorry!"

Regina felt tears in her eyes at the sight in front of her. No matter what she had originally planned or even said not a half hour earlier, she knew now that she could never hurt this creature. She moved towards the girl, noticing her flinch and simply pulled her into her arms. "Breathe, Emma. Just breathe. It's okay, darling." She rubbed Emma's back as she felt her stiff body loosen a bit. "It's okay, no one is mad, no one is going to hurt you." She pulled back a little and cupped Emma's cheeks, locking eyes with those blue green ones. "Breathe with me. In and out. In and out." She walked Emma through breathing slower and finally, the attack seemed to be over. However, that seemed to bring out more crying. Regina pulled Emma close again and rubbed her back. "Let it out, Emma. If you need to cry, you can cry."

"I…I…I'm so…so…sorry…I…wetted….mys….myself." Emma said through sobs.

"Shhh. You don't need to apologize for that, honey. Once you're feeling better, we'll get you all cleaned up." Regina said softly as she continued to stroke Emma's back. She felt the girl jerk a bit and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

Emma sniffed. "Your hand rubbed on my ouchie."

It was then Regina remembered Jenny telling them that Emma had a large cut on her back. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I forgot about that. Do you want a pain pill?"

Emma shook her head and wiped at her eyes. "They make my tummy feel funny."

Regina stroked Emma's hair back from her face and noticed little freckles on her cheeks. She honestly was such a cute little child and she had no idea how people could have hurt her. "Okay, well let's get some new clothes and go in the bathroom and get you cleaned up. We'll put a new bandage on your back tonight and see if you want a pill then." She stroked Emma's cheek. "All better?"

Emma nodded and wiped her eyes. "All better. I'm sorry I…"

"Shh. No more sorrys." Regina said as she got up and went to the closet. "I think some of the stuff we got you may be a little big, but what do you like to wear?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. No one's ever asked me before. I just wear what I'm given."

Regina smiled. "Well, do you like dresses?"

Emma came closer. "I never haded a dress before. I always wanted one though, but not a really fancy one."

Regina chuckled and pulled out a simple purple sun dress. "How about this one? I think it should fit nicely."

Emma nodded with a grin. "I like it."

Regina then went to the dresser and pulled out a new pair of underwear and a pair of socks. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Emma timidly followed Regina to the bathroom, where Regina left the door open thinking it would make Emma more comfortable. "Do you want me to help you?"

Emma just nodded as she looked down at the floor as if she was ashamed. "Yes please." She said quietly.

Regina got on her knees and smiled at the little one. "Okay honey, let's take you pants off first. Can you pull them off while I get a washcloth ready?"

"Yes, ma'am." Emma whispered and started to work on the button on her pants.

"Oh Emma, call me Regina if you're not ready to call me mommy yet."

Emma looked at her. "I…I can call you mommy?"

"When you're ready you can. Until then, you can call me Regina or even Gina, but don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel super old." Regina chuckled, making Emma smile. Regina waited for the water to warm up before she got the washcloth wet. "We'll just use this for now and maybe a bath later before bed."

Emma finally got the button undone and pulled her pants off followed by her wet underwear. "I hafta be careful in the bath cuz of my back. They said to not use a lot of water cuz it aint supposed to get too wet."

Regina gave a nod. "Okay, honey, I'll remember that. It's a good thing you remember what the doctor told you. You are a smart little thing, aren't you?"

Emma just shrugged. "Everyone calls me dumb."

Regina made a noise with her tongue. "Well then I don't think they knew what they were talking about." She then turned to look at Emma and froze as she did so. Emma's legs were covered in green, yellow, and purple bruises, and the sight broke her heart even more. "Oh my, Emma. Do your legs hurt?"

Emma swallowed and shook her head. "Not really. They only kind of hurt if I sit on my knees. My tummy and back hurt the most, but maybe with a dress, they won't hurt much either."

Regina gave a nod and moved closer to Emma. "I'm going to be as gentle as I can be, dear. If I do hurt you, please tell me so I can stop." Regina watched as Emma nodded and then she carefully started cleaning her. A few times Emma winced, but she didn't say anything, and Regina would move from the spot that seemed to hurt. "Okay, all clean now." She held out the underwear as Emma stepped into them and then helped her take her shirt off. Curiosity got the better of her. "Can I see your back, Emma?"

Emma looked at her and nodded before turning around. "It's all covered with the bandage. I gots more bandages in my back pack. I have to change them every day until the bandages are gone, but I'm gonna need help."

Regina smiled a bit and made sure the bandages weren't disturbed when she had rubbed Emma's back. "Mama Mal or I will do it for you honey. There's a cream that Jenny gave us that we have to put on it too."

Emma's shoulders slumped. "I was hoping Jenny forgoted the cream."

"Why honey? Does it hurt?" Regina asked, turning Emma back around and looking at the bruises on her stomach and chest.

"It stings. When one of the nurses put it on in the hospital, she was nice and would blow on it, but the other ones didn't."

Regina tapped Emma's nose. "Well, I'll make sure Mama knows to blow on it if she does it, and if I change it, I'll blow on it. Emma, I do think you should take a pill tonight though. I'll read the label and see if it says anything about how to make it so your tummy doesn't hurt." Regina held the dress up and put it over Emma's head.

Emma pushed her arms out and nodded. "Okay. If you think that's best, but maybe can I have a bucket by my bed in case I get sick like I did sometimes at the hospital?"

Regina helped Emma with her socks. "Of course, sweetie. Now, let's go see if supper is ready." Regina stood and put Emma's clothes in the hamper.

"Wait, don't I gotta clean the floor in my room?"

Regina had forgotten about that. "You don't have to do it, but maybe you could help?" She opened the bathroom closet and grabbed a rag and bucket. She knew it wasn't that bad, so she only put a little water in the bucket. "Can you carry that?"

Emma nodded and took it. "I'm strong!"

"Yes, you are." Regina chuckled, and, in the hallway, she opened the closet and got the carpet spray out. After spraying the spot, Regina rubbed at the carpet. "Now, we will let this dry."

After cleaning everything up, the two made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. "Emma!" Lilly said with a smile. "We just finished setting the table. Are you hungry?"

Emma nodded. "I'm always hungry." She giggled.

"I like your dress!" Lilly said. "Come on, we eat at the dining table."

"Why don't you show her honey, and we'll be in soon." Mal stated, watching them go. She then looked at Regina. "You were up there a while, is everything okay?"

Regina sighed and wrapped her arms around Mal. "That poor child." She said before telling her what happened. "I can't hurt her, I won't. I…I just hope she won't turn on us when she's older."

Mal kissed Regina's cheek and held her wife. "She won't, Regina. I can feel it. She managed to warm your cold heart." She joked, making Regina chuckle.

"I think you and Lilly had already warmed it quite a bit." She sighed. "You know, you and I were called villains, we were called evil, wicked, dark. But we never did to children what has been done to her. Wait until you see her bruises, her back. It's enough to make you sick."

Mal shook her head. "I'm so glad we got Lilly before those monsters could. Now, we just have to show Emma what love is, show her that we're not bad or evil or wicked, because you know what? We're not."

"You're right."

"Mama! Mommy! We're hungry!"

Regina chuckled and unwrapped herself from Mal. "We're coming."

"This is the bestest mac and cheese I ever had!" Emma said as she finished her second helping. "Even your peas are really good! I don't normally like peas, but these are sweet and yummy."

Mal smiled at the little one. "Thank you, dear, you eat as much as you want."

Emma looked at the pot that had the pasta in it. "Do I hafta eat all of that?"

Lilly giggled. "Why would you have to eat all that?"

Emma looked down. "At my other foster home, I was the last to eat and I had to eat whatever was left."

Regina gave Mal a look and shook her head before looking at Emma. "Honey, that won't happen here. You only eat what will fit in your tummy and if you don't like it, you tell us. Whatever is left will go in the refrigerator and we'll have left overs for lunch tomorrow or the next day."

After dinner, Mal went upstairs and put a mattress protector on Emma's bed before remaking it while Regina took the girls into the back yard to play for a bit. Regina noticed that Emma was much more cautious than Lilly and often looked back at her to make sure she wasn't doing anything wrong. Mal came out and sat next to Regina, watching the girls. "I was thinking we could give them bath time together, but if Emma's got all those bruises, I'm not sure I want Lilly asking a bunch of questions."

Regina nodded. "True, and Emma can't have too much water because of the cut on her back. I wish I would have looked to see what happened before we burned her file. I know we could ask her, but the poor thing has already had to explain so much."

"I'm sure it'll come out eventually." Mal said. "So, maybe we give Emma a bath in the hall bathroom and Lilly a bath in our bathroom?"

Regina hummed her agreement. "You want Lilly or Emma?"

Mal looked at Regina. "I don't mind, I'm just a bit nervous about Emma's back."

"Well for her bath, we just have to wash her hair maybe by having her lean forward and keep a towel over the bandage, but we can change the bandage after the bath. I feel like you need some quality time with her though, if you don't mind, then we'll change the bandage before she goes to bed. I think I'm going to call Dr. Whale and see if he has any recommendations about her pills. She said she gets sick when she takes them, but I know she's hurting."

"You go do that and I'll get the girls inside and ready."

Once inside, Emma tried to hide a yawn but Mal saw it. "I know you're tired, little one, but we need a bath first. Mommy will take Lilly in our bathroom and I'll take you in the other bathroom."

Lilly gave a pout. "Why can't I take a bath with Emma?"

Emma looked down. "Cuz I'm a dirty foster kid."

Mal's heart broke and she knelt down in front of the girls. "Emma, that's not true. The only reason we're doing separate baths is because with the cut on your back, you can't have as much water and you can't have splashing. Once you're healed, you two can have bath time together, because Emma, you're not a dirty foster kid. You are Lilly's sister, our daughter. I know it feels different now, but I hope that one day soon you will realize we are your forever family."

Emma looked into Mal's cool blue eyes and gave a little smile. "I always wanted a forever family."

Mal smiled back. "Now you have one."

"Lillian? Come on up for your bath." Regina called, and Lilly ran up the stairs.

Mal smiled at Emma and took her hand. "Let's pick out some jammies and start your bath." They did just that and when Mal helped Emma take her dress of, she tried hard not to gasp at the bruises all over Emma's body. "Oh honey, do these hurt?"

"Not all the time." Emma said as she took her socks off. "Sometimes they do, but I don't like the pills that take the pain away cuz they hurt my tummy."

Mal nodded and helped Emma into the shallow tub, making sure the water didn't touch the cut that ran down her back. "Try not to get your back too wet, honey, but a little water is okay." She chewed on her lip a bit, sure, she and Regina had some magic due to them being here together, but she knew that if she tried to heal Emma, it could take the rest of the magic energy they had. Mal started to gently wash Emma with a flannel washcloth and hummed softly. "I think Mommy Gina was going to call the doctor and see if there was a way for you to take the pills and not get sick."

Emma was quiet for a while before she looked at Mal. "Mal? Sometimes I have bad dreams at night. I can't help it, but my last family didn't like it. I scream and sometimes I wet the bed. I don't mean to."

Mal could see tears filling Emma's eyes and she leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "If you have a nightmare here, sweet girl, we will not get mad. We will comfort you and keep you safe."

Emma swallowed. "I knew you'd say that. That's what nice people say."

Mal smiled and stroked Emma's cheek. "Okay, little monkey let's wash your hair. Can you get on your knees?" Emma did so and Mal covered her back with a towel. She then used a large cup to gently pour the water over Emma's head. Emma didn't make a peep as Mal did this. "Okay honey, have a seat while I put shampoo in your hair." Mal grabbed the kid shampoo conditioner mix and massaged it into Emma's hair.

"That feels good." Emma sighed as she closed her eyes. "It smells good too."

Mal smiled and hummed as she worked on her hair. "Okay honey, time to rinse."

Once Emma's hair was rinsed, Mal helped her out and wrapped her up in the towel, using a slightly smaller one to wrap up her hair. Mal was about to help her in her pajamas when she remembered they'd have to do the bandages. "Let's go to your room honey, we'll get you all taken care of."

Emma went with Mal and once in her room went to her backpack. She got out the new bandages. "I don't have the cream. The Jenny lady had it."

"Oh, that's right. Let me go ask Mommy Gina where it is." A few moments later, Mal came back in with Regina in tow. "Lilly's going to pick out a book while we do this and then we'll read to both of you." Mal explained.

"Do we have to do this?" Emma asked, not wanting the pain.

"I'm sorry baby, but we do." Regina said softly. "Mama Mal is going to hold you while I take care of it."

"Okay." Emma said and looked at Mal. Mal sat down on Emma's bed and pulled Emma up on her lap so she was facing her. With the towel between them, Regina pulled up a chair and opened the back of the towel. Very carefully she pulled off the old bandage, causing Emma to wince slightly at the pull of the tape.

"I'm sorry, honey." Regina soothed, trying not to gasp as she saw the wound. It had been deep, that much was certain, but it looked like it was healing nicely. "Did you have stitches, Emma?"

Emma sniffed into Mal's shirt and nodded her head. "Yes. I couldn't lay on my back for days. They took the stitches out two days ago."

"I think it's healing nicely, but I want to make an appointment with our doctor just to make sure." Regina said as she opened the cream.

"Will you stay with me? I don't like being at the hospital by myself." Emma asked, tears filling her eyes.

"Oh honey, yes we'll stay with you. You won't have to stay overnight or anything. It'll only be a few minutes, so the doctor can make sure it's okay." Mal said softly, nuzzling into Emma's neck to comfort her.

"Okay, sweetie, I'm going to put the cream on now." Regina said and she could tell Emma started tensing up. She softly blew on the wound as she applied the cream.

"You remembered." Emma said softly.

Regina smiled as she put the new bandage on. "I did. Did it help?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Okay, all done. Good girl." Regina said, rubbing around the wound. "How many bandages do you have left?"

Emma wrapped the towel around her and went to her backpack and pulled them out. "Three more."

Regina took them. "I'll keep these with the cream, okay? Now, how about we get your jammies on, then you and Mama can come in Lilly's room so we can read to you both."

Emma nodded and watched Regina go before going to get her new for her pajamas. "I love footie jammies. I never had any, but I seen them."

"Emma? What happened to your back?" Mal asked, unable to stop herself.

Emma's face fell, and she looked down. "I don't wanna talk about it, if that's okay."

Mal blinked some tears and nodded, putting on a smile. "It's okay, Emma, you don't have to. Come on, butter bean, let's get you dressed."

Regina did both girls's hair in braids as Mal read to them. Then, once both girls were sleeping, Mal carefully took Emma to her room and laid her in her bed, kissing her cheek. She turned the nightlight on and went downstairs to meet Regina. The two sat on sofa, curled up in each other as they silently were in their own thoughts.

"Did you see it?" Regina asked finally.

"Yeah, it's horrible. I asked her, I couldn't help it. But she said she didn't want to talk about it. No wonder she has nightmares, no wonder she doesn't trust anyone. I honestly hate every single person that has hurt her, I really do, and I hate her parents for sending her here with out knowing where the hell they were sending her. Was that life really better than a cursed one?"

Regina pulled Mal closer to her. "No, my love, no it wasn't, but now…now we will all have the lives we deserved. We will have love and we will show her love and she will love us." Regina had no idea when she started caring so much about love, but she figured it had something to do with Mal and Lilly. Emma, well she just seemed to make her heart complete.