Mary Margaret: Thank you! lmao! His name is Leo Simmons, actually. And yes, his name is an amalgam of Fitzsimmons (because they are fluffy-sweet Shield babies). Just a little easter egg, nothing actually involving those characters.
BossLady: Thank you! Yeah, this is delving a lot more into their interactions with their NY friends, so I hope you enjoy!
Gremma Shoelace: Thank you so much, sweetie! Prompts are added to the list!
Title: Plans for Home
Summary: Emma and Graham's friends are determined to be sure their wedding is perfect.
Note: Prompted from Guest - where they get married. This really got away from me, but I wanted this to show just how tempting for Emma it would be to stay in NYC; this is where she feels accepted, comfortable, and loved. It has to be a real choice, once she gets to SB, and this shows why that choice will be painful either way.
Gifset (with gif credits) linked in profile.
On Tuesday, Emma stomped into the bar on 84th.
She zeroed in on Andie, who was leaning against the back of the bar, her attention on her phone. It was only three in the afternoon, after all, so there weren't many patrons. Emma scrapped out a stool noisily.
Andie looked up, smirking slightly before tucking the cell into her back pocket. "Well, good afternoon. You missed the drama this weekend."
"Drama?" Emma asked, shrugging out of her coat.
Andie's tongue clicked. "You know the normal. Someone made some snarky comment about mail-order brides in front of my short-tempered husband. He spent the rest of the weekend making sure to cite him for any little thing he could. Littering. Jay Walking. Breathing too hard near a playground, I don't know."
Emma shook her head. Andie Simmons née Nguyen was a full sixteen years younger than her husband, and born to liberal Vietnamese parents to Leo's English/Italian-Catholic. They certainly had an unconventional relationship despite these facts, but they deeply cared for one another, fitting like two people married and in love should. "People are idiots," Emma said succinctly. "You okay?"
"Me?" Andie asked incredulously. "Please. First of all, people talking out of their ass is nothing new. And second of all, there are other things that should bug me more. Like the fact that I fell for a cop and now am stuck with him for life. Didn't even get money out of the deal," she joked.
Emma grimaced. "Yeah, well, still."
Andie shrugged. "It was still fun, in a machismo sort of way, to see Leo defending us like that. Not something I'd like all the time, but could be worse."
Emma gave a half smile. "Some perks to being with a detective, right?"
"Don't you know it!" the brunette declared with a quick grin.
Emma chewed absently on her lip, readying herself for the change in topic. "What are you doing Friday?"
"Leo and I were talking about seeing Cap. Why, you want in?" she asked, automatically grabbing a glass from the clean stack.
"I have something else in mind and was wondering if you and Simmons want in," Emma replied, picking up a coaster to fiddle with nervously.
"I don't know. I really wanna see Cap. It's supposed to really good," Andie said teasingly, filling the mug with the beer on tap. She put it in front of Emma before tapping her finger to her chin in mock consideration.
Emma pushed away the mug. "Thanks, but not drinking," she said.
Andie blinked. She studied her critically, her eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she gasped. "You're pregnant!"
Emma pulled her hands through her hair with a laugh. She should have known Andie would realize right away. "Yeah, kinda am."
"You idiot! You have me rambling on about old news while holding onto this gem!" she admonished, walking around the bar to enfold her in an embrace.
Emma chuckled, pulling back. "It's not like there's suddenly going to be a baby tomorrow."
Andie scoffed and swatted at her. "No, you have to tell me immediately so I can get to teasing you and Humbert about it all the time. Don't make me miss those precious moments!"
Emma rolled her eyes. "So, Friday?"
Her nose wrinkled. "Friday, what's Friday? You gonna carry to term in four days?"
She shook her head. "Nah, I was thinking about adding a hyphen to my last name then."
Andie's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"
Emma swallowed and nodded. It was still big and scary, in some ways. Her stomach flew with anticipation at the thought, even though something else felt warmed and comforted by the notion. Being married was not a huge step, in the long run, since both she and Graham knew exactly what it was to be apart and wanted nothing of that again. Still, the title of "husband" and "wife" seemed weighty, even weightier than, say, "mom."
She shook out of her thoughts and smiled at her friend. "Yeah. Already called Maggie in. I'm going to tell the rest of the girls tonight, but I knew you were working. Graham's telling the office right about now."
Her dark eyes tightened as she considered her. "Emma, you're not doing this just because you're pregnant, right? I mean, I know you love him and all, but Leo loved Jess at one point and now they're at each other's throats all the time and –"
"No," Emma cut off, shaking her head. Her mind immediately flashed over Simmons and his ex-wife fitfully arguing in front of the principal's office one time she had picked up Henry. She thinks that would never be her, until she reminded herself that it may have been had Neal stuck around. "No, not just because of the kid. Admittedly, it'll be easier for him to adopt Henry, but … but I really want this, Andie."
It surprised her how much she did. It was nothing more than a formality, but for the little girl that had spent a lifetime in foster care and an adult woman who'd wandered around in self-imposed loneliness … the idea of a wedding and a certificate and a ring seemed normal and right.
Andie stared at her a few more moments before a smile stretched across her face. "Then consider me there. Are you doing religious? Wait … park ceremony?"
Emma cut her off before any more guesses came forward. "No, no, we're just doing City Clerk's Office."
Andie wrinkled her nose. "But party after, right?"
Emma snorted. "Yeah, we'll figure something out."
She nodded. "You're right. Gia wouldn't stand for nothing happening. I'm sure she'll have the Plaza or something booked up just for you," she said with a playful roll of her eyes. "But bachelorette party here on Thursday."
Emma held back a laugh, putting her face in her hands. "I can't drink."
Andie smirked. "Doesn't mean we can't."
XX
"You guys are ridiculous," Emilia said, mouth parted. "You don't mess around!"
Ritu laughed, pouring her glass full of wine before passing off the bottle. "I knew it. I knew it as soon as I caught you guys in the hallway that day. You may move at the speed of light, but you burn just as brightly." Her hazel eyes were twinkling merrily as she sipped from her glass.
"Says the girl who got married five days after meeting her husband," Emilia cackled back, then nudged Gia. "Miss Three-Marriages, give her some advice."
"Me?" Gia asked, eyes widening innocently. "Why, I think marriage is fantastic, obviously," she said with a wicked grin.
Emma rolled back her head, sighing. "And are you trying to talk me out of this or saying I'm doing the right thing?" she asked.
"My vote's on right thing. New kid or no, you guys have been headed down this path since day one. I thought I was going to have to smack you in the head a few times to get it down, so kudos baby Humbert," Ritu teased.
"Amen, Amen!" Gia said. "Don't take my track record for it. Lots of people get it right on the first time, I just wasn't one of them."
Emilia raised her glass to her lips, her eyes twinkling. "Same. I might have been in on some planning details with our lovely Andie for the past three months, you know."
Emma couldn't help laughing as she pressed the glass of water to her head. "I really didn't expect it to go this fast. But it feels like the right time," she admitted.
"Good," Gia nodded, pulling out her phone. "Even though you're not making this easy on me, I will find you somewhere fabulous to celebrate after. Really, hon, you couldn't have given me more than four days to plan?" she asked in a huff.
"Did I say I need somewhere fabulous?" Emma asked, arching her brow. She had already known that protesting a reception in general would not be possible, not with all the friends they had accumulated that had been rooting them on since before they began. But she and Graham didn't need anything fancy, and she dreaded hearing something like Ballroom or Palatial or Michelin-starred at the end of whatever she was thinking.
"You don't ask Gia for these things, darling, they just happen," Ritu mock whispered to her.
"Wait, wait, wait, Lee just texted. Someone cancelled a venue and it is perfect," Gia spoke up, a smile pleasantly on her lips. She turned the phone pridefully.
Emma had to admit, as she swiped through pictures, that while more opulent than her tastes, it was a fantastic location. She nodded. "Gia … how much?"
She waved her hand. "Please, please! I married Georg for a reason, sweets."
Emma shook her head. "This is our wedding and we'll pay for it."
"And Graham works for the city and your pay is dependent on delivery. Please, call it my wedding gift. I promise I won't buy you anything else," she said, crossing her heart. Then she grinned. "Until the baby shower."
"Best to agree now or she'll just buy you something ridiculous later," Emilia said dryly. She pointed at the brunette. "Or don't you think I remember the crystal duck?"
Gia looked surprised. "You mean you don't have use for a crystal duck?"
"Fine! Just no other gifts," Emma grumbled. How much could the place be?
XX
She made it home exhausted, her sides hurting from laughing much too hard and her stomach too full. She was grateful she wasn't yet at the stage of morning sickness, or she'd have paid for every morsel she consumed. She came through the door sluggishly, kicking off her heels immediately. She reached down to rub her feet before clicking on the foyer light.
The soft glow of the DVD menu cast upon her boys, passed out in front of the screen. Her face relaxed as she looked at them, heads on opposite arms but the same sofa, a bowl of half-eaten popcorn tipping precariously between them.
She picked up the remote and clicked off the TV, sighing as she grabbed the throw blanket to toss over the two. She nearly let out a yelp when she felt a hand on her wrist, before looking over to see Graham blinking owlishly at her.
"Fun?" he asked in a slur of sleep as he sat up.
She nodded, pressing her forehead against his. "Yeah. Gia's found a place to have the reception."
He chuckled warmly, the sound reverberating in her chest. "Unsurprised. Good place?"
She hesitated a moment and then shrugged. "It's a little much, but with Gia, it could have been worse."
Graham's eyes turned serious, and he pulled a hand through her hair. His eyes lightened suddenly, a smile tweaking his lips. "A little luxury is okay. I'm marrying a princess, after all."
She scoffed, rolling her head onto his shoulder. "Does that make you my prince consort?"
Graham cocked his head to the side. "Is that how it works?"
She shrugged, pressing her lips against his gently. "No exactly sure. I was never paid much attention in History, much less read up on monarchies."
His kiss lingered more than she had anticipated, and she leaned into it. "Maybe we should just stick with 'husband' and 'wife,' then?" he asked when they parted.
The butterflies perked up in her stomach again, and she smiled widely. "Yeah, that'll work."
"She'll be princess," he said with a teasing smile, his hand flattening over her tummy.
She rolled her eyes. "Or prince. Let's figure out what it is before we start giving it titles, okay?"
XX
Thursday morning brought Maggie to JFK.
Emma and Henry waited in bag claim, watching the parole officer weave through the crowds before sweeping them both into a big hug.
"My loves!" she exclaimed, kissing Henry on the crown of his head before pulling back and scowling at him. "You, sir, are getting too tall. Emma, why aren't you stunting his growth?"
"I tried," she said sardonically. "He grew two more inches."
Maggie clicked her tongue. "Well, at least the littlest munchkin will take some time before getting that big," she countered. She held her hands wide, hovering a couple inches over Emma's stomach. "So, this is going to expand, huh?"
"That's what I hear," Emma replied.
"But you were supposed to give me more notice. You're lucky I got discount last-minute fares."
"You never plan anyway," Henry piped up.
Maggie narrowed her eyes and then broke out in a grin. "That's my boy," she said, hooking her arm around him.
"Are you going to come back more? Now that mom's pregnant?" he asked, bouncing on his toes.
She had to admit, for all the news that they'd dropped on Henry, he was taking it all in very well. His reaction to the proposal had been enthusiastic, and they'd had a long talk about it. Henry had only expressed his happiness that they get to be together, all in one, and that the wedding just seemed like a fun add-in.
They've only tentatively broached the subject of adoption, dancing around it to get an idea of Henry's feel for it. So far, he seemed favorable to the idea. Graham wanted to wait until after the wedding until he formally asked him, though.
Maggie's face fell almost imperceptibly. "Got a few parolee's that would take offense to it, I think. Sorry, hon. But I'll come out for the big stuff."
"Tell me you didn't actually plan out a wedding with Andie last time," Emma said, changing the subject quickly.
Maggie narrowed her eyes. "Who do you think I am?"
"A meddler," Emma replied.
She shrugged. "At least I own up to it. C'mon, I found a dress online and they're holding it at the store. You'll love it."
Emma groaned, and even Henry looked bemused.
But an hour later, Emma was wearing a short, flared off-white dress with a half-mesh back. A rack of dresses she herself had picked were on the bar, waiting to be tried on. But the dress she wore made her stand straighter, tilting her head to look at it from other angles.
"Dammit," Emma said as she exited the dressing room. She stood in front of the mirror, seeing how it skimmed across her figure, the lightweight material swaying as she moved. "Dammit, dammit."
Henry popped up behind her in the mirror. "It's really great, mom. It looks like you."
She nodded, huffing as she fingered the soft fabric. "I hate you for knowing me so well, Mags."
"You love it," she insisted, coming forward. She grabbed her hair and twisted it back. "Now, imagine a braided bun. No veil, light makeup, flat sandals. Casual, but formal enough for pictures and all that. Elegant but comfortable. Chic but … well, you get the idea."
Emma felt annoying tears prickle as she cursed either the hormones or how she had friends that actually knew her and her taste in this timeline. She didn't want a full wedding dress, with yards of silks or satins and a long veil or tiara gracing the top of her head. She just couldn't picture standing next to Graham in something like that. This, though, with its understated elegance and nontraditional style with a little something extra ….
She sniffed, looking away. "Yeah, I guess that'll work," she murmured, turning back into the dressing room.
"Shut up with the tears, now! We have lots of work to do before tonight."
XX
"To Emma, on her last night as a free woman!"
A whoop went through the air, and Emma tipped forward, laughing as Emilia pinned a "bachelorette" badge on her blouse and donned a sparkly-pink lei over her head.
"C'mon, c'mon, we must embarrass you all night!" Andie cried, grabbing her arm as she bounced excitedly.
Emma groaned as the cake came into view. "Seriously?"
"Yes, seriously!" Gia said, lighting the last Pecker Candle on the obscenely shaped confection. She grinned wickedly. "Were we approximate, darling?"
Emma narrowed her eyes playfully. She leaned forward. "Am I just supposed to –"
"Blow!" came the reply from the group of women.
Emma giggled and did as instructed, to the raucous applause of the entire bar. Ritu came forward with a different batch of themed food, and Emma threw her head back. "I am too sober for this!" she bemoaned.
"Nonsense!" Maggie declared. "Besides, your own damn fault. You and that soon-to-be hubby of yours. Not that I can really blame you, but you had to go and fu—"
"Shh, tiny virgin ears!" Andie scolded, holding her hand in front of Emma's stomach protectively. "He can hear you!"
Emma swatted her away. "I don't think it even has ears at this point, but thanks for defending the kid's honor and not mine," she replied wryly.
"Anytime," she said with a grin.
"C'mon," Gia said, her eyes twinkling. She placed a flute of sparkling cider in her hand. "We got some party games for you."
"Why am I scared?" Emma said pointedly.
"Because you're a very smart girl," Emilia replied with a wink.
XX
Emma arrived home in the wee hours, feeling thoroughly tired. Late nights were now a little harder to manage with the new thing she was carrying around. She was covered in lipstick marks, leis, phallic-shaped candies, and was pretty sure her shirt was ruined by chocolate, fizzy virgin drinks, and confectioner's sugar.
She exited the elevator, finding Graham fumbling with his key in front of the apartment.
"Henry still at Avery's?" she asked, coming to wrap her arms around the back of him.
She can almost feel his answering smile, even though she can't see his face. The door opened and he turned, fully engulfing her in his arms. "Yeah, he's staying there until tomorrow. Aamer's watching them, however begrudgingly. Tomorrow, I'll go over there and get ready at Ritu and Sam's, since Maggie already said you guys are taking over the apartment."
She hummed her acknowledgement. "You don't smell like whiskey," she commented, pressing her face into his shirt. Instead, he smelled like barbeque, and she inhaled deeper. She had expected him to come home reeking of liquor after Simmons and the rest had taken him out. The guys liked to get rowdy in groups.
"Didn't want to drink if you couldn't," he replied simply, cupping her face to bring their lips together.
Silly man and his silly, honorable decisions. "You know I wouldn't have minded."
"It wouldn't be fair," he replied stubbornly. Then he grinned. "But does that mean I don't have to give up coffee?"
She sighed. "We'll see," she said mournfully. It was the one thing she'd really miss the next eight months.
He closed his eyes, nudging her nose. "If it makes it easier, I'll give it up, too," he vowed.
"I love you," she murmured against his lips.
"I love you, too," he said, sealing them once again.
"We're getting married today," she said as they parted.
He grinned. "Yeah. We really are. Fourteen hours."
"And a lot of that will be sleeping and getting ready. So, not much time to get in some taboo premarital relations," Emma said with a coy grin, unzipping her blouse as she stepped into the apartment.
His answering growl was not altogether surprising.
XX
"You look great, mom."
She looked up, catching Henry's eye in the mirror and smiled. Andie was behind her, her hands still working on the braided updo her hair was to be styled into. "Thank you, kid. You're still not dressed."
He shrugged, leaning against the doorway. "Not yet. I don't need much time."
"True," she acquiesced, hooking a hoop into her ear before she looked back up. "Sick of hanging out with the guys?" she asked.
"Not exactly. Just wanted to see you."
"Little twerp's just trying to get gossip to bring over to the guys," Maggie said, ruffling his hair with a playful wrinkling of her nose. "He's a spy!"
"Oh, no," Andie said and then rattled something off in Vietnamese that she didn't bother to explain.
Emma looked up, her brow furrowing as she noticed that the display had barely lifted a chuckle out of her son. "Break time," she declared, stepping up.
"What? I'm not finished!" Andie said with a pout.
"Yeah, well, need a sec. Pregnant bride is always right," Emma said. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and guided him out onto the balcony. Once the door was shut, she turned to him. "What's really up, kid?"
Henry shuffled his feet a moment before leaning his hands against the railing. "Do you miss grandma and grandpa?"
It felt like a sucker punch. The wind knocked out of her in a whoosh, a cold grip deep inside her.
Henry looked up, noticing her pallor. "I'm sorry, shouldn't have brought it up," he muttered, kicking his toe against the stone.
"No," she said quickly, shaking her head. "No, don't feel like you have to censor yourself around me."
He offered a smile and a shrug. "Just … I dunno. Something I was thinking about when Damon and Matt were talking about their grandparents coming for when Gia married Georg. They were complaining about having them over … but –"
"But you miss Mary Margaret and David," Emma finished simply.
Henry nodded slowly. "Yeah."
"It's okay. I … I do, too. I really do. Especially now," Emma admitted, walking to the edge near him. It hurt to admit, the pang of missing them suddenly split wide into a searing wound, one she hadn't realized still stung so deeply.
Henry leaned his head on her shoulder. "But this is real, too, right? Us?"
She kissed his brow. "Always. You, me, Graham, this thing," she gestured to her middle, and Henry was quick to cover it with his hand. She grinned, before sobering. "We'll always miss them. But at least we've got each other."
He was silent a long moment, but comfortably. "Graham wants to adopt me, doesn't he?"
She huffed a chuckle. "Figured it out, huh? No one's going to make you agree. He won't do it if you don't want it." She wrung her hands a little and then rested them on his shoulders. "It is absolutely your decision. And he'll ask you formally next week, once things are settled down. You can think about it all you want; there's no rush."
Henry quirked a smile. "Thanks. I will think about it."
"That's all I can ask," she said, bumping his shoulder with hers. "Sorry our lives are so complicated, kid."
He looked up, bewildered. "Think this is complicated? You should hear Aamer and Avery talk."
She grinned.
XX
She leaned down to fix her heel, and then swallowed back a churn of nausea. "Damn," she murmured. It looked like her luck had run out in regards to her symptoms. She refused to acknowledge that it could be nervousness; it was just a formality.
She turned the corner, and knew the exact moment Graham found her. His jaw slackened, his eyes widened, and he rose slowly, taking her in.
"Approval?" she asked as she got closer.
He took her left hand and brought it up to his lips, a kiss along her palm. "Still the shoelace, huh?" he breathed, rolling his thumb just underneath it.
"It's important," she said stubbornly. "Consider it my 'something old.'"
He pulled her closer, swaying them slightly. "You are beautiful. Always. But something about today …."
She laughed. "Is this going to be a 'bride' comment or a 'glow' comment?"
He shrugged. "A 'happy' comment. I love you."
"Good," she said. "'Cause we're about to say that for life, so …."
He grinned. "Can't wait."
She pressed a kiss to his jaw. "Me neither. You don't look too bad yourself, Humbert," she teased. He looked great, actually. She missed a little stubble on his jaw, but his eyes were shining brightly as he looked at her. She realized they both looked so happy.
"You ready for this?" he asked.
She opened her mouth, then frowned. "Wait, ditch the jacket. You're uncomfortable."
His eyes sparked with surprise before he shrugged out of it. She smiled serenely to see him in a waistcoat, a memory of his old outfits in Storybrooke resurfacing. "How'd you know?" he asked.
She narrowed her eyes. "I knew when you were uncomfortable in Storybrooke," she taunted, twisting his words back. "Gia made you, didn't she?"
"Simmons, actually." He trailed a hand down her arm before taking it in his. "Said I looked too casual without it."
"Please. We're not exactly doing this traditionally," she snorted, holding her hand over her stomach.
"Maybe at the coronation ceremony," he teased back.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. You're lucky you're so cute, buddy."
"Cute?" he asked with a wince.
She pretended to study him. "Yeah, guess so. Wanna get married?"
He sighed, hiding a grin. "If you say so."
XX
The ceremony in itself was more of a blur. It's benign, to the point, and very succinct.
Emma didn't care about the words pouring from the officiant's mouth.
She cared about Graham's eyes, steady on hers. She cared about Henry grinning like a madman, proudly holding out the rings when it's time. She cared about her friends and coworkers, delighting in their pronouncement. She cared about the barest touch he gives her stomach before sealing their lips.
She cared about the meaning behind it all.
This, all these people, every last one: from Graham and Henry all the way down to sullen-looking Chief Miller … this was family.
This was home.