Ok someone in the reviews did actually guess part of my plan for this chapter! Great minds! Lets help Tia some more shall we? Let me know what you think please
Love Rouge xxx
Chapter 10
It was another two weeks before Regina and Emma got the perfect opportunity to try out their plan. Tia's progress had been slowly continuing and she was starting to feel like she finally had a family who loved her and who would look after her. Nightmares and accidents had still been happening every night, but each time, Regina and Emma cuddled her and sang until she calmed down and asked to sleep in their bed with them. There were never any hesitations from the mothers, whatever would make Tia feel safe they would do.
"I wonder what we should do today?" Regina asked the whole family as they were finishing their breakfast, pancakes of course, as it was the weekend.
"Out!" Tia gasped excitedly as she swung her little legs from her seat as she pointed to the back door to the garden.
"Oh we can't today Tia, look, it's raining" Regina explained as she pointed to the window showing the little girl the weather.
"Wow it's really coming down" Henry noted as he gave a small smirk to Emma who had let him in on their plan.
"Oww" Tia pouted as she stuck her bottom lip out sadly, she really had fallen in love with the freedom and fun of being in the garden.
"I'm sure there is something fun for you to do inside Tia" Henry smiled
"Well, we could clean our rooms?" Regina suggested playfully
"No way, that's not fun" Henry protested
"Nooo" Tia copied, shaking her head
"I cleaned mine last month!" Emma whined childishly and winked at Tia who was giggling at the pantomime that was being acted out in front of her.
Regina smirked "Dear, I clean our room, you don't clean anything" she said as she stood from the table and cleared the dishes away.
"Do too" Emma smirked "I...sweep!"
"When?" Regina asked with a raise of an eyebrow as she walked over to Emma with a hand on her hip.
Emma suddenly stood, grabbed Regina's waist and lifted her up into her arms, putting a hand under her knees and spinning her around quickly. Regina gasped and shrieked in surprise, she quickly wrapped her arms around Emma's neck as she was spun. Emma giggled feeling Regina's grip around her neck, she stopped after a few spins.
"What on earth was that for?" Regina asked as she crumpled her brow trying to stop herself from feeling dizzy and looked at Emma for an explanation for her behaviour.
Emma grinned "Just swept you off your feet madam mayor"
Henry cracked up laughing "You have to admit mom, that was a good one!"
"I seemed to walk right into that one didn't i?" Regina smirked as Emma carried her back over to the table and sat down, placing Regina down on her lap, not wanting to let her go. She wrapped her arms around her wife's waist again.
Tia giggled and clapped at all of the commotion, not understanding the joke but enjoying the show anyway.
"Ok, no cleaning rooms" Henry said "what else?"
After a few moments of quiet the blonde gasped "I know, Henry can play his new video game and we can play runway with Tia!"
"Fine by me" Henry grinned
"Tia have you played runway before?" Regina asked.
Tia shook her head gently intrigued by the game.
Emma's eyes were wide "no? Oh it's really fun!" She said trying to build suspense and interest for the little girl "shall we play munchkin?!"
"Kay" Tia nodded excitedly and reached her arms out to the mothers and wriggled in her seat "out pwease"
Henry rushed off to go and set up his games console in the living room, he was pleased that so far everything was going to plan in order to help Tia.
Emma let go of Regina's waist and the brunette stood up off of Emma's knee, she lifted Tia out of her seat after she had been tapped. The little girl settled comfortably on Regina's hip as she held onto the neckline of her mothers dress. After placing a gentle kiss on Tia's cheek Regina led the way upstairs to their bedroom. Emma gave Regina her phone before she opened the door to their walk in wardrobe and Regina sat on the bed with Tia on her lap.
"Ok, so this is where Mommy and Mama keep their clothes, and if you are going to be on a runway you need clothes!" Emma explained excitedly as she disappeared through the door of the wardrobe. All that could be heard was the sound of hangers knocking together and fabrics rustling for a few minutes. Unknown to Tia, Emma and Regina had hidden a few props in there to help them make this more fun. "Music please maestro" Emma called from inside the wardrobe.
Regina smiled and clicked play on Emma's phone which started playing music with a heavy bass beat and no lyrics. Regina made sure that the music was low enough so that Tia didn't get a fright. When Emma came out she was dressed in her jeans and tank top as before, however now she had paired them with her favourite grey beanie, a pair of pink flip flops, a pair of oversized comical lime green sunglasses and one of Regina's Black suit jackets draped over her shoulders dramatically. Both Tia and Regina laughed when they saw her and Tia tried to follow Regina's lead as she clapped to the beat of the music. Emma grinned pretending to pose for photographs and waving before strutting a funny walk down the length of the room.
"Silly" Tia giggled, covering her mouth with her hands seeing her mama acting so funny. Her eyes lit up watching the show.
Emma then made her way back to them and took off her glasses "See! Runway is fun!" Emma giggled as Regina turned off the music.
"I think this is an improvement on the way you dress dear" Regina smirked looking her wife up and down "except I don't remember giving you permission to borrow my jacket" she said with her eyebrow raised and a flutter of her eyelashes.
"We're married now, whats yours is mine remember?" Emma replied cleverly "...unless you want me to remember that next time you put on my snuggly cream jumper?" she joked with a grin knowing just how often and how much Regina loved wearing Emma's oversized, warm jumper.
"I...suppose you wearing that jacket is ok...it isn't one of my expensive ones anyway" Regina replied trying but failing to appear aloof. She would never give up Emma's jumper, she loved waking up on a cold morning, changing into it and snuggling back up in bed with Emma. It was just long enough for her to wear it as a dress around the house on lazy days too; and being Regina Swan-Mills there was no outfit that she couldn't pull off.
"I thought you'd see it my way" the blonde giggled as she passed Tia her beanie to try on.
Regina helped the little girl put the hat on, and although it was much too big for her and kept falling over her eyes, Tia gasped excitedly and bounced on Regina's knee reaching up to touch it on her head.
"Hey you look really cool, try these on too" Emma suggested taking her flip flops off and showing the little girl.
Tia shook her head quickly and sucked her thumb
"It's ok look" she knelt down and showed her "see how different they are to other shoes, all open? And look how big they are compared to your feet" Emma giggled putting them next to Tia's little feet "they will be soooooo big" she smiled "Want to try with Mommy and Mama here helping you?" She gently encouraged "then it's mommy's turn to play runway!"
Tia looked at the flip flops as Emma held them. Both mothers remained calm and waited for Tia to decide if she was ready. The little girl quickly reached out one foot and tapped one of the shoes with her toes, as if she was checking the temperature of the water in a bath before stepping in. "Try" Tia whispered with her thumb in her mouth as she leant back into Regina's embrace for comfort.
Emma placed the flip flops onto the carpet and Regina took hold of Tia's waist and very gently lifted her from her knee, lowered her to the floor and placing her feet into the shoes. "It's ok, we've got you" she whispered as she felt Tia tense up "nothing is hurting" she gently reminded her.
Tia looked down at the large shoes with her feet in, she wriggled her toes gently and started to relax again "no hurt" she said with a small smile looking up at Emma again.
Emma smiled back "see? You're all good!". With permission she took Tia's little hands and lead her slowly across the room, knowing that because the shoes were so big, she wouldn't be able to walk by herself without falling over. To see another child behaving this way wouldn't have been a big deal, but seeing her baby girl take this step and trust them this much was overwhelming to Emma. Her heart swelled with pride. "You're doing it" she encouraged "no hurt".
...
"Baby you need to say the magic words" Emma whined childishly as she sat on the bed with Tia.
A huff came from inside the wardrobe "music please Maestro!"
Emma giggled and pressed play on her phone, the music started again and this time Tia followed Emma's clapping.
Regina came out of the wardrobe wearing her tight black dress as before, but she had paired it with a black trilby hat which had a long feather poking out of the side, a pink feather boa draped around her neck, neon orange beads wrapped around her waist and her favourite black peep toe high heels. She usually would feel embarrassed acting this way, but she would do anything for her family, making a fool out of her self and letting out her inner child included.
Tia's giggles were music to their ears as she cutely covered her mouth again with her hands as she watched Regina strut dramatically down the runway. As she got to the end she took off the feather boa and twirled it around like a lasso and pretended to pose for photos.
"Now that's how you do it!" Emma grinned whooping at her wife
"Fwunny" Tia smiled and clapped as Regina made her way over to the bed. "Pink!" Tia pointed at the feathers.
"That's right princess" Regina smiled as she playfully tickled Tia's neck with the end of the feather boa causing the little girl to squeal and lean back into Emma's chest as she pushed away the feathers giggling happily.
"Ok Tia's go!" Emma announced as she put the little girl on the floor "lets see, how about you keep my beanie on...want the glasses?" She asked.
Tia shook her head and pointed at the feather boa. Regina knelt down and tied it around Tia's waist for her "how about the beads too?" She suggested.
Tia smiled and nodded "want beas" she copied and patted her neck
"There?" Regina asked as she untied them from her waist and carefully draped them over Tia's head to dangle from her neck "oh beautiful!" She smiled
"Ok, last thing" Emma said as she went to the wardrobe and returned with new sandals for Tia.
Seeing Tia was still a little worried Regina stroked her back lightly "they are open just like before sweetheart, these are your very own sandals and look, they have velcro so you can open and close them when you want to all by yourself". The sandals were pink with little daisies on, they were designed so that Tia could slide her foot in easily, they were open toed, there was a velcro heel strap and another strap going over the foot to make them secure. "Shall we try? I promise they wont hurt you" the brunette encouraged.
Tia looked at Regina, she felt her warm touch and she felt safe, she believed what she was telling her as nothing had hurt her since she left the children's home. She cautiously stepped into the shoes with Regina's help and watched as she was shown how to fasten them. She wiggled her feet again checking that everything was ok.
"Look at you miss cool!" Emma smiled "go see in the mirror"
This time, because she had shoes on that fit properly, Tia didn't toddle and wobble, she walked. She walked right over to the mirror and looked at herself. Emma and Regina instinctively held hands watching her. Emma kissed her wife's cheek lovingly "well done baby" she whispered
Tia turned back to her mothers and grinned happily "they pwetty!" She smiled
"They are!" Emma agreed "as are you munchkin! Now quick into the wardrobe, your turn!"
Tia gasped and quickly ran into the wardrobe as she saw her mothers do earlier, now completely distracted from the new shoes.
"Can you remember what to say?" Emma asked
"Music miso pwease!" Tia called excitedly
Both mothers giggled and Regina pressed play on the music and started recording on her phone. Tia poked her head around the door, checking if it was time for her come out. After a quick encouraging nod from Emma she walked down the length of the room trying to copy what she saw her mothers do. One hand pushed her beanie out of her eyes and when she got to the end she smiled and giggled seeing herself in the mirror
"Strike a pose!" Emma smiled
Tia twirled and gave a little shy wave and smiled as the mother's clapped her.
…
Grab your wellies kid come on!" Emma called to Henry as she opened the back door and headed outside into the garden with regina and Tia. It had stopped raining and the sun had come out again.
Henry leapt up off of the couch and quickly headed into the kitchen grabbing his wellies on the way. He knew that his mothers were trying to give Tia a chance to experience new things and have as much fun as possible. He wanted to help them in any way that he could and he knew that it must be time for the last part of his mother's plan. He pulled on his blue wellies and headed outside.
"I was just telling Tia, that the best thing to do after it has been raining, is splash in puddles!" she grinned as she stood up from the step in her yellow wellies
"Oh yeah, it is really fun!" he smiled agreeing "nice sandals Tia!" He commented seeing that their idea of the runway had worked.
"Ta" the little girl smiled shyly
"You just need to put your wellies on" Emma smiled as she put a little pair of pink sparkly wellies next to Tia "and then we can splash!"
Tia looked at her sandals and then at her wellies "no wan to" she said with a small whine "keep these on" she said as she patted her sandals "an pway too".
Emma couldn't help but smile and shake her head gently at her baby girl, they had spent the best part of three weeks trying to get her to put shoes on, and now that she had, she didn't want to take them off! As the mothers knew, this type of behaviour was normal for her age and they welcomed any signs that Tia was acting like an average child. However, they also didn't want to teach her that not doing as she was asked and not listening was good behaviour. Emma sat with Tia and Regina, taking the lead this time "I know that you really like your sandals, but if you splash in them then your feet will get wet, they will get all dirty and the velcro won't work anymore, then you wont be able to wear them. So, me and mommy and henry will be over there splashing, and when you're ready, just let us know and we will help you put them on ok? Then we can all play together" after explaining she took Regina's hand and stood, pulling her with her knowing that Regina wouldn't want to leave Tia by herself.
Tia pouted looking at her wellies and brought her knees up to her chest. She wasn't afraid of putting them on, she just wanted to keep her sandals on, but she also wanted to play. She frowned feeling frustrated with having to decide and not being able to play. She started to sniffle and cry.
"Just like the car baby" Emma whispered seeing Regina's face fall as Tia started to cry "Just another test. Two minutes, trust me"
"I do, with my life" Regina whispered back and kissed her wife's cheek "who else would i splash in puddles for?" She smiled.
Emma giggled looking down seeing Regina wearing her riding boots, they were the closest the brunette had to wellies as she didn't make a habit of getting dirty. The blonde held Regina's hand and ran off, pulling her through the puddles with a squeal to distract her from hearing Tia upset and knowing that Tia needed to be able to see what she was missing.
"Wait, I'm going to fall!" Regina called trying to slow down
Emma just laughed and continued to pull her wife through all of the puddles "keep up," she giggled.
Henry jumped from puddle to puddle around the garden and up the path, he kicked and splashed water at both of his mothers laughing cheekily before running away.
Both mother's gasped getting wet "Henry!" they called in unison. Regina wiped at a splash of mud that had flicked onto her pants. They were about to retaliate when suddenly...
"MOMMY!"
Everyone stopped in their tracks. Regina swung around and looked over at the steps, Tia was stood up holding a wellie in each hand and had already unstrapped the velcro and had stepped out of her sandals. "Mommy" she repeated quieter now that she had her mothers attention "wan to pway pwease" she said simply with a few last sniffles as if she didn't know the enormity of what she had just said.
"You heard her mommy" Emma grinned elbowing Regina gently and winking at her "go help her"
Regina ran over to Tia with tears in her eyes "ready now princess?" She smiled sniffling gently herself as her heart soared but trying to stick to Emma's plan. Tia nodded and quickly sat on her mommy's knee, forgetting to tap her, and she passed Regina one of her wellies and then the other. Regina decided to not make the little girl aware of what she had forgotten to do, not wanting to draw attention to it. She took the wellies and gently slipped them onto her feet, helping her to stand up. She wiped the tears from Tia's cheeks and then her own before kissing her baby girl's nose. "Lets play" she smiled
"Kay!" Tia grinned happily and held onto her mommy's hand running off to join the rest of her family.
They spent the afternoon laughing, playing and splashing each other. They chased each other around Regina's tree and stayed out even when it started lightly raining again, no one wanting to stop the fun. Tia let go of Regina's hand eventually and tried to run to Emma with her arms open. As she was still little and wasn't used to running, she looked like Bambi on ice, sliding everywhere. The blonde caught her before she fell in the mud. She scooped her up and spun her around, Tia squealed excitedly grasping onto Emma's coat and giggled when the ride stopped "gen Mama!," she smiled happily.
"Again? You aren't dizzy munchkin?!" Emma replied elated at being called Mama for the first time by her daughter.
"No" Tia smiled and shook her head
"Hold on tight!" Emma giggled as she spun Tia around again feeling inside like she could fly herself as she was so happy.
By the time they all decided to come back inside, they were dripping from head to toe and covered in mud, but no one could take any of their smiles from their faces.