a/n: part 2 of definitely 3. disclaimer still applies.
I can't believe I'm bewitched by this cute little version of Emma, Regina thought as she marched back to the couch and sat beside Emma. "Of course I will, Emma," she said, playfully poking at the doll. "And I see you got to know... erm..." Regina wracked her brains to name the doll.
"Can I call her Mandy?" Emma asked.
"Sure. In fact, she's yours to keep," Regina replied with a smile.
"Wow!" A wide grin lit up Emma's face. She jumped up and wrapped her little arms around Regina. "Thank you!"
The hug took Regina by surprise, yet she found herself hugging the little girl back. "You're welcome, sweetie." The endearment slipped out unheeded, shocking Regina further. She rolled her eyes halfheartedly before pulling back to pick up the toys and introduce them one by one to Emma.
Not long after, Regina found herself sitting comfortably on the floor with her shoes off in the midst of a dainty little tea party with Emma, Mandy, the Hulk, Ellie the elephant, and Mr. Snuggles the teddy bear. She was right about her hunch about the use of the dominoes. They served as pretend plates, cups, mini doughnuts, cookies, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Regina had to laugh quietly at Emma's insistence that her choice of finger foods are so much better than scones. That's the Emma she knew, all right.
After the tea party, Emma asked if she could play on the swing again. Regina agreed. In the half-hour she spent pushing Emma on the swing, she discovered that she was truly enjoying herself as she listened to the little girl's every giggle. Regina found herself laughing at little Emma's delight that in a burst of mischievous inspiration, she lifted Emma from the swing and yelled, "Tag! You're it!"
The sight of the former Evil Queen playing tag with a child other than Henry, laughing with wild abandon and generally just being a kid herself would be as potent as looking into the eyes of Medusa. Regina Mills certainly never acted that way, nor do any of Storybrooke's residents remember if she even played tag with Henry when he was little. The denizens of Storybrooke could have been in for a treat still had any of them passed by 108 Mifflin Street that afternoon.
None of these thoughts crossed Regina's mind, however. She was having too much fun and judging from Emma's shrieks of laughter, she was also having the time of her life.
The boisterous game of tag eventually tired Emma out so Regina led the four-year-old back to the house for a nap. This day seemed to hold a lot of surprises for Regina when Emma reached out for her hand naturally as if she'd done so her whole life. Regina felt lucky to see the girl's easy smiles and receive an open show of affection. It was easy to forget that Emma will grow back to her adult self soon.
Back in the house, Regina took the little girl to the spare room and had her change first into a new shirt she got from the backpack. Then she turned down the duvet. When she motioned for Emma to climb onto the bed, Emma hesitated.
"What is it?" Regina asked.
Emma lifted beseeching green eyes at the brunette. "Can I sleep with my blankie and Mandy?" she said timidly in that tiny voice of hers that Regina thought cute-at least, for little Emma.
Regina remembered seeing a knitted sheet inside the backpack. "Oh, of course. First let's get you in bed." She hoisted Emma up on the bed and removed her shoes before getting the blanket and doll.
Once Regina got Emma settled, she tucked the baby blanket around Emma and handed the doll to her. Emma immediately clutched it to her chest along with a fistful of the blanket. "Sleep tight, okay?" Regina said, gently tucking a tendril of Emma's hair behind her ear.
Emma looked down as she worried the corner of her baby blanket and mumbled something.
"You can speak up anytime, Emma. Otherwise I won't know what is it you need," Regina said softly.
"Can you read me a story?"
Henry's storybook was the first thing that popped into Regina's mind. Without missing a beat, she retrieved the book from Henry's room. Regina made herself comfortable beside Emma, who by some unconscious movement cuddled up beside her. She smiled for what could be the hundredth time that day, and she allowed Emma this small comfort. Then she opened the book to Snow White and Prince Charming's story and began to read.
"That's not what I watched on TV," Emma observed politely. "Snow White can talk to birds and she sings a lot."
"Oh, this Snow White does those too, believe me," Regina laughed lightly. "But Snow White in this story is also bada... I mean, brave, and has gone on lots of adventures. Would you like to go on adventures too like your-like Snow White?" She was glad she caught herself before she said, 'Your mommy'.
"Yeah!" Emma nodded eagerly. But she sobered down almost all at once. "But maybe my new mommy and daddy won't let me," she said.
"They would, don't you worry about it," Regina assured Emma. She then continued to read the story of Emma's parents until she felt a weight beside her. She looked down to find Emma fast asleep, cuddling Mandy to her chest.
Regina gently laid Emma back down and tucked her baby blanket around her again before going to her study. She plopped onto the loveseat by the window and covered her eyes with one hand. Of all the things that she could have expected to happen, having to take care of a little Miss Swan isn't one of them, or at least it's at the bottom of the list of possibilities. She wouldn't admit to the Charmings that she felt a little strained at first, given her history with the family.
Yet Regina was amazed at how the young version of Emma endeared herself to her immediately despite her initial doubts. The child sleeping in the other room was a shy little one, but underneath all that she was a likeable kid all in all.
Young Emma was also respectful and well-behaved like a proper little lady, much unlike adult Emma most of the time in her book. Regina chuckled at that even as her observations turned to gloomier things. With Emma's uncertainty and persistent need to ask permission for every little thing as if what she liked or thought didn't actually matter, Regina could also see that this Emma Swan with her four-year-old memories was at the threshold of more than two decades of hurt, pain, and loneliness.
Regina need only look in the mirror to see the root cause of all that. She hid her face in her hands for a few minutes. Maybe, just maybe, if she had done things differently... "What's past is past," Regina mumbled weakly. Nonetheless, had things been different, Emma would probably not be the Emma Swan everybody knew and loved today.
And today, Regina would make sure that little Emma's experience under her temporary care would be a pleasant one. She had grown rather attached to the four-year-old and would most likely miss her when Emma grows back.
Her thoughts were interrupted by whimpers coming from the spare room. She immediately rushed to the spare room to see Emma in the throes of a nightmare.
"Please don't send me back," Emma cried heartbreakingly in her sleep. "I want to stay with you." Even while curled tightly into herself, Emma's tiny arms shot out, as if reaching out for someone. Regina was by her side in an instant.
"Emma, honey, wake up," she said, while patting the girl's shoulder.
But Emma was still trapped in her nightmare. There was no need to guess what it was all about, when she let it all out. "Don't go... Mommy, Daddy, don't leave me!"
"It's okay sweetie, no one's leaving you," Regina hushed gently. She brushed aside the unruly curls that had stuck to Emma's tear-streaked face. "You're okay. It's just a bad dream."
"Please!" Emma's eyes shot open. She looked around wildly before she registered Regina hovering worriedly over her. "Regina? Did my new mommy and daddy leave me too?"
Regina could have cried over Emma's words. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "No, Emma, they didn't," she said as soothingly as she could. She sat down on the bed beside the little girl. "You just had a bad dream. Remember? Your mommy took Neal to the doctor and will be back soon. You'll see your daddy later on too."
Fresh tears poured out of Emma's green eyes. "I want my mommy and daddy."
"Come here, sweetheart." Regina lifted Emma and settled her on her lap. The little girl's terror over being left alone again was very real that Regina could feel her trembling in her arms. Regina held Emma closer. If she was being honest with herself, she wanted to just hug Emma's pain away. Her heart leapt a little when she felt Emma clutch at the front of her shirt.
Emma's cries finally dwindled to a sniffle, but Regina continued to rock her and rub soothing circles on her back until she heard the four-year-old's breathing even out. She looked down and saw that Emma had fallen back asleep with her thumb in her mouth. Regina sighed. Poor Emma. She hoped that Emma would not be as traumatised when she turns back to an adult. Regina started to lay Emma down but she whined in protest and clutched at her shirt more tightly. So Regina sat back once again, leaning on the pillows she propped up.
Regina must have dozed off because next thing she heard was a confused, "Mom?"
Her head whipped towards the direction of the whispered word. There in the doorway of the spare room stood Henry, his mouth agape in shock.
"Who's that?" Henry whispered.
"Emma," Regina whispered back, giving her son a look that clearly told him to keep quiet. She tried tucking Emma in bed once more and thankfully was met with no resistance. Afterwards Regina led Henry to the kitchen, where she told him the events that led to his birth mother de-aging herself by accident as well as the reason why she's the one looking after her.
"But will she turn back to real age? What if she stays that way forever?" Henry asked worriedly.
"No, she won't," Regina assured Henry. "I just repeated to you what your grandma told me, but don't worry. The spell that had backfired will only last for twenty-four hours until Emma returns to her adult self."
"Can you do anything about it like right now?"
"I could but it was your grandparents who decided to take the scenic route. I respect their wishes on that regard. Besides, this gives them the chance to raise Emma the way they should have even for a short time. Your grandma's words, not mine, but I agree with that as well."
"I see." Henry looked carefully at his mother. "How are you holding up?"
"Oh, I'm all right."
"Mom," Henry prodded.
And Regina found herself pouring her heart out to her teenage son over glasses of apple cider. Henry, bless his heart, was all ears and nothing but understanding.
"Don't get me wrong, Henry. And it's only to you that I'll ever say this. I found that it's very easy to love your mother at that age. How shocking is it that Emma could be that... adorable, for a lack of a better term," Regina dragged the last eight words out, silencing Henry's snickers with the look. "But Henry... I can't help but think of what our family could have been like had I not been consumed with revenge. I'm sorry for even voicing that out to you. I just... I don't know." Regina shrugged helplessly.
Henry nodded, understanding what that meant. "It's okay, Mom. I'm not that old yet but I do have moments like that sometimes." He took hold of Regina's hands. "Of course we can't change the past. But the good thing is, you are not defined anymore by what you have done then. I only have to see how you helped in defeating the villains that come to Storybrooke and made sure of everyone's well-being since the curse broke. There's always been good in you, Mom, and you've already come so far in changing your path for the better."
Regina smiled at her son. "Since when did you become so wise, huh?" she ruffled Henry's hair playfully. "Anyway, thank you. That's what I've been telling myself the whole afternoon, to leave the past where it belongs, but it means a lot coming from you especially."
"I believe in you, Mom. I always have." Henry wrapped his mother in a bear hug.
tbc