Guest Comments

BossLady: Thank you so much, as always, lovely! You know how much I love Henry and Graham, and their friends. They are my precious loves, and of course I will continue bringing them in again and again. Let me know if you have any more specifics you want to see! ;)

Title: Carnival Games
Summary: Henry's school is throwing a carnival.
Author's Note: Tina0609's prompt "Emma beats Graham at darts. Maybe by distracting him? Something funny ;)" with a little more NY friends in there for fun. If the Vietnamese is off, blame the guy who was busy being distracted by proposing to my bff. Gosh, some people.

"So, where do you wanna start, kid?" Emma asked. She placed one hand over her stomach while the other pressed a ticket into her son's palm.

"Darts!"

Graham and Emma shared a look before watching Henry run to the stand in the middle of the carnival. The Anderson School had set up the entire field with games and rides and treats, and the chasm of color and sound was stretched out as far as they could see. When Gia wanted a fundraiser, she left no holds barred.

Said woman watched him bounce in and out of the weave of the crowd with an amused expression. "Here," she said, pushing a few tickets into Emma's hand. "Georg bought too many."

Emma frowned and held them out. "Gia, I can pay for my kid's own tickets."

"Who said they were for that kid? Let your big kid play," she said with a grin. The stack of crystalled bracelets jangled as she elbowed Graham in the side before she waved them both off. "I've got lots more to attend to. Have fun."

She disappeared into the crowd before she could protest further. Emma sighed and counted the tickets in her hand. "At least she didn't give us more than a few games worth."

"Could have been worse," Graham agreed as he wrapped his arms around her. He leaned down to rest his chin into the crook of her shoulder, and cupped her stomach gently. He cocked his head to the side to meet her eye. "But I'm the big kid?"

"Well, we can take turns, then," she said with a roll of her eyes. "C'mon, I actually do want to play."

Emma didn't look to see if Graham was following as she approached Henry at the game stand. He and Michael were giggling as they mostly missed their shots, the darts landing harmlessly on the grass before the brightly colored balloons. "Mom! Can I get another, please?"

She gave three tickets to the teacher manning the booth, and he handed the packs of darts to her. "We'll all get a turn," she said, her eyes twinkling.

"I don't like that look," Henry said suspiciously.

"I don't know what you mean," Emma said, her eyes widening guilelessly.

"I do," Graham muttered as he placed the darts on the table in front of him.

Henry took a step back. "I think I'm just going to watch this round. Mom, go before Dad. We know how he'll do."

"We'll see about that," she murmured. She snuck a glance at her husband, who was busy talking to Michael about his hand positioning. She quickly tossed the dart at the board, grinning as a green balloon was hit.

Graham turned at the sound of the distinct pop, and eyed her suspiciously as he handed her the next one. "Definitely improving," he said, though there was a question in his words.

"Oh? Must be the genetic thing," she said, and flung the next one. It landed in a way that popped two at once, and she grinned.

He leaned closer, out of earshot of the boys. "I felt that," he whispered in her ear, his hand gliding along her scapulae. "Cheater."

Other than a charge of electricity that made the hair on her arm stand on end, there was no indication that her magic was used. Not like in Storybrooke. There was no flashes of light, no fog of color.

A part of her felt a flare of nerves. She still remembered the first time she noticed that she was using it, and the pallor her then-boyfriend had been taken with as he realized what happened. And that had been a subconscious use.

She studied him closely to see his reaction to the active use. He didn't seem to hold onto any fear; only playfulness was alight in his eyes. She gave a cautious smile and hurled another bounce of power into her aim, popping three balloons in its downwards arc. "Only using my every advantage." She felt flushed, a little breathless at the realization that she didn't have to hide how childlike and free she felt in its use. "Your fault, anyway."

"Hey, the mango only helps. Don't blame him," he replied warmly. He continued a slow massage along her back as the teacher handed over her prize: a stuffed animal about the size of Henry's torso. Graham kissed the crown of her head and her lashes fluttered shut, warmth spreading out from the touch to imbue her entire body.

Henry was watching with narrowed eyes, a smile tweaking the edge of his lips. "Good job, mom. A surprisingly good job. Dad, beat her."

Graham laughed and picked up his cache of red and blue darts. He took aim with a false seriousness for Henry's benefit.

With care not to actually hit him with any of her magic, she bent the trajectory of his first throw to land in the dirt in a way that would make physics weep. "Gee, Mr. I-never-miss, what's wrong with your aim?"

"Playing dirty, I see," Graham said and tossed one before she could build the next tremor of power. He sliced through two blues and a yellow. "One more like that, and I win."

She aimed just as he did, until his other hand shot out to catch hers. She couldn't help giggling as she squirmed, bumping her hip into his as he threw with a sharp exclamation.

He glared at her in light-hearted exasperation then turned to see that he'd only popped one extra balloon. "Such a cheat."

"Foul!" Henry cried. "Rematch!"

"Oh, look, Andie's here!" Emma said, pulling away conspicuously from the challenge. "Andie!"

Andie looked over and raised her popcorn in greeting. "Emma! Hold up!" She turned and straightened one of Daisy's pigtails before leaving her with Simmons.

"Save me," Emma pleaded, linking arms with her.

"What did you do, Bounty Hunter?" she asked knowingly.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," she replied.

"Uh huh, sure." She leaned over and kissed Graham on his cheek, then ruffled Henry's hair. "She's up to no good, then?"

"Duh," Henry shot back. He reached forward and grabbed a handful of popcorn from Andie's bag.

Graham was distracted, though, as he searched the crowd. "Jess here, too? I need to talk to Simmons about—"

"The case? Humbert, it's a carnival," Andie said in exasperation.

Graham glanced back sheepishly. "I know."

She rolled her eyes. "Workaholics, both of you. Go. He's got the file on his phone."

Emma felt him grasp her hand, and turned to meet him as his forehead rested against hers. He bumped her nose with his affectionately. "Be right back."

She watched him go with a small smile, her heart swelling once more. When turned back to her friend, Andie had crossed her arms. "What?"

Andie shook her head and muttered something in Vietnamese. "Seriously, though, you two."

"That sounded judgmental," Emma said pointedly.

Andie shrugged. "Maybe you should learn a few phrases, then you'd know."

"I know some!" Henry exclaimed proudly.

Andie looked at him, bewildered. "Oh, you, little spy? You think you know? Tell me."

He grinned mischievously, eyes twinkling. "Anh yêu em."

It sounded familiar to Emma's ear, but for the life of her she could place it. "What's that?" she asked, turning back to her friend.

Andie's dark eyes were wide with surprise. "Where'd you learn that?"

Henry shrugged. "You guys thought you were being sneaky, saying it all angry to each other, but I caught on. Simmons always says it to you."

A small smile crossed her face. "Ah, is that so? You think you know what it means?"

Emma turned back to her son. "What does it mean, Henry?"

Henry shrugged, popping another piece of popcorn in his mouth. "'I love you.' Duh."

Emma looked down at her son proudly. "You are so observant, kid."

"Em thương anh, Henry," Andie said fondly, kissing his brow. "Smart kid, this one. You should keep him."

Emma stared down at him a moment, pretending to consider it. "Well, I think the warranty expired, so …."

Henry rolled his eyes. "You've been with Graham too long. His humor's rubbing off on you."

Her nose wrinkled but she conceded with a sigh. "Yeah, probably. We can blame it on the fact that he planted his DNA in me."

"Ew, gross, Mom," he said, his face screwed up. "I'm going on the bumper cars."

"You wanna scar the kid for life, huh?"

"One of the perks of parenthood, Andie. You're saying that you, of all people, don't tease Daisy?"

She muttered something sharp.

Emma grinned. That one she knew. Between Andie and Ritu, she had learned many of the coarser words in Vietnamese, French, and Tamil.

"Speaking of parenthood, how's Little?"

She patted her stomach with a small smile. "Super active this week. Especially around Henry. He's too used to Graham's voice now and only moves about half as much for him," she said with a grin. She was only partially teasing. The baby seemed comforted by Graham's voice, and only stirred for a few moments before settling to sleep. Henry's voice was a surprise, and he remained active throughout their conversations.

"Ah, it's a boy day. I was wondering," Andie said, then squinted to find the guys in the crowd. They were huddled next to the bumper car rink, the two looking every bit the cops they were as they went over evidence on Simmons' phone. "It's harder to keep tabs without you and Humbert in my bar all the time."

"We weren't there all the time," Emma scoffed.

"You know what I mean," Andie said. She squeezed her close by her shoulders. "I miss you two. The shifts have been getting longer with Má cutting back her hours and my favorite patrons not there to break up the time."

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty about not hanging out in a bar while I'm pregnant?" Emma teased. At Andie's frown, she nudged her. "Hey, I know. I miss you, too. You gotta show up at all hours, like you used to."

She snorted. "I already had to hear you two once, and Maggie said you're even worse when you're in your own space. No, I think I will be announced for all future visits, thank you."

Emma snickered. "Or you can show up at more of Gia's functions."

She shrugged a shoulder and pouted. "Yeah, maybe."

She sighed as she conceded. "I'll come by next week, as long as you sneak me some iced tea and a box of sugar cookies. Deal?"

"Deal. I'll hold you to it," she said, shaking her hand firmly.

"Fair notice: Ritu's still on me like a hawk, so she might join," she warned.

Emma had only lucked out on this weekend because the Wilsons were visiting Aamer's grandparents back in Quebec. It didn't stop Ritu from cooking full, balanced meals that currently sat half-eaten in their fridge; the boys and her scarfed down much of it the night she dropped it off.

She didn't mind the hovering anymore, not really. It got a little stifling now that she was well, and she had certainly fought it tooth and nail in the very beginning. Looking back, she really didn't know what she would have done without her, when she had been so sick that she couldn't get up from her tiled bathroom. In the end, she suspects that half the reason it didn't bother her was because of how familiar it felt.

Sometimes, as Ritu fluttered around, fussing over them all, she saw a little of Mary Margaret peeking through.

"By all means, bring the over-protective one. Maybe a little drink will do her good," she said mischievously.

She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. She hadn't seen the other woman tipsy in a fair amount of time. "Sounds like a plan. Now," she said, and dug through her pockets. "Let's get some ridiculously greasy and sugary food. We need to support the kids, after all."

"It's the charitable thing to do," Andie agreed, swiping one of the tickets.

Emma nodded in agreement. She'd buy a couple extra bright pink confections for her men, too. It'd soften the blow of her totally legitimate win.