Chapter 4
Emma had been home for an hour now and Mary Margaret's fussing over her had finally died down a bit and David just left. "Are you ready to talk sweetie?"
She nodded. "The letter, it was from Neal. He went back to Phoenix and he… turned himself in. He confessed to stealing the watches." She sighed. "I should be happy he's gone. I told him I didn't want him in our lives. I got angry with him and said that I could have him arrested. I mean, I was bluffing, but I still did it." She groaned. "My emotions are everywhere. It's annoying."
"Do you think, maybe you might still have feelings for him?"
She nodded. "I don't want to though. He's bad for me. Definitely a little too old for me. He's 19. I mean, he'll be in jail for at least 2 years, but ugh." She groaned loudly and the tears prickling in her eyes. "I wish I could just turn it off." She whispered. "I just wanna turn off my feelings and emotions towards Neal. I hate him. I mostly hate him because I'm pretty sure that I still..." She trailed off.
"Love him?" Mary questioned and Emma nodded. She pulled Emma into a hug. "It's okay to have mixed emotions honey. You're a teenager, then if you add on the pregnancy, your emotions are gonna be everywhere, with or without the Neal mess." She told her. "But I'm here for you. All the way."
Emma sighed and looked over at her foster mother. "You're sure you're okay with this all? You know, with me keeping the baby? I mean, if it comes down to it, I can find somewhere else-"
"Hey." Mary Margaret said cutting her off. "None of that, alright? I'm all in. I'm gonna take care of you and help you with this baby. Do you understand?" Emma nodded. "I know you think that you can do it all on your own, but" Mary Margaret stroked the hair out of Emma's face. "You're still a baby yourself. Whether you want to admit it or not, you're gonna need my help. And I'm glad to give it."
Emma smiled and pulled her foster mother into a hug. "I love it here, and I love you so much Mare. You're the best mother figure I've ever had." Emma mumbled into her shoulder.
Mary Margaret was near tears herself. "I love you too honey." She said returning the hug. "You are- by far- the best thing that's ever happened to me."
XXX
Emma was at work and she could practically feel Granny watching her like a hawk. She groaned quietly in annoyance.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked Emma.
Emma glanced back and saw Granny still watching her. "Mary Margaret asked your grandmother to keep an eye on me. Granny doesn't play around. It's a little infuriating." She sighed.
Ruby giggled. "What'd you do anyways?"
"I went for a walk without a jacket- or a phone- and fell asleep on a bench at ocean's view. I was gone for like 2 hours." Ruby's eyes went wide. "And don't you dare take her side."
Ruby held her hands up in defense. "I'm not. I'm just surprised she's not here hovering right now." Ruby admitted.
Emma smiled. "She's at work." She said, smile only faltering when Regina came into the diner. "Well if it isn't mayor-zilla." She muttered. She walked over to the mayor with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Good afternoon madam mayor. What can I get for you today?"
"Coffee. Black. As always Miss Swan."
Emma gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, but didn't allow her fake smile to falter. "Yes madam mayor. Coming right up." She turned around and rolled her eyes.
"Oh, and Miss Swan, I'd unclench those fists of yours, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." Emma slowly unclenched her fists and poured the mayor a glass of coffee. "So, what brought you to Storybrooke in the first place Miss Swan?" Regina asked her.
"A fresh start is all." She told the mayor. "Do you need anything else?"
The mayor smirked. "No, I'm only wondering, do you think your stay here is going to last very long?"
"Excuse me?"
The mayor shrugged. "It's just that I've looked into your file," she started and Emma's fists were back to being clenched. "It doesn't appear that you've stuck around anywhere for very long. Miss Blanchard may be your foster mother, but keep in mind Miss Swan, that's only temporary. Perhaps your better off with your boyfriend… in prison. I mean, you did find yourself helping him try and get away with robbing a jewelry store, did you not? You're most definitely not mother material."
Tears were prickling in the rims of Emma's eyes, but she wouldn't give Regina the satisfaction of crying in front of her. "I think that's quite enough madam mayor." Emma heard David say. "Maybe you should take your coffee to-go." Regina turned to face David and Emma took the opportunity to escape to the bathroom to recollect herself.
When she came back, Regina was gone and David was sitting at the counter in Emma's section. "Hey David," she said casually. "What can I get you?"
He smiled warmly at her. "Join me for lunch?" He asked. She looked over at Granny- who nodded in approval. So she nodded. They made their way over to a booth and ordered lunch. "Emma-"
"I'm fine." She answered a bit too quickly. "Their just words. I'm fine."
He sighed. "The thing about words Emma," he leaned in. "They hurt."
"Well, you don't need to worry about that with me David." She sighed. "I'm used to it." He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Foster system's not all it's cracked up to be." She said. "But it's fine." She insisted. "I'm fine. Really, I am." She lied. "I can deal with it."
"Emma." He sighed. "It's okay to be upset." He saw Emma getting ready object. "And don't say you're not upset Emma."
She sighed. "She's right." She whispered. "Anything could happen and I can end up back on the streets again. I can't be a mother if I'm on the streets David."
"You're not going to end up on the streets Em."
Emma looked up with tears brimming in her eyes. "How do you know? My entire life has just been a run of bad luck. Why should it change now?" She asked.
"Because Emma. You have a family here." David told her.
She smiled and let a few tears fall. "Thanks David." She wiped her tears away. "Damn pregnancy hormones." She muttered and he chuckled.
XXX
Emma walked inside the loft at 6:30 after walking home from work and she saw Mary Margaret sitting on the couch. "Hey Mare." She said and sat next to Mary Margaret- who just pulled her into a hug. "David tell you what happened at work today?" She asked.
"Yeah… and Granny… Ruby may have also shot me a text."
Emma laughed. "Traitor. I was actually complaining about you today… to Ruby. She almost took your side."
"Almost?" Mary Margaret questioned. "I would think that she'd always take my side." She joked.
Emma chuckled. "I wouldn't let her. I cut her off before she could."
Mary Margaret sighed. "What Regina said, it's not true. I'm gonna be here… always. And you're going to be a great mother." She squeezed Emma tighter, then broke the hug. "I honestly have no clue why she hates me- and you by association- so much. She's hated me for as long as I can remember."
XXX
It's Valentine's Day! Emma hates Valentine's Day, but she's willing to put her hatred aside for Mary Margaret and David.
Ruby loves Valentine's Day ever since she started dating Mulan. She has the entire diner V-Day themed.
Emma was sitting on the couch. "Are you sure you don't want me to pick up an extra shift at Granny's, so you and David can be… alone." She said. "And do… alone things." She joked.
"Emma!" Mary Margaret picked up a pillow and threw it at Emma. "And I'm sure. David's said he wants both us us here, so you're not getting out of this."
David knocked on the door and Mary Margaret answered it. "Hello beautiful." He said and greeted her with a kiss, along with a bouquet of snowbells and chocolate.
"Child in the room." Emma joked. David laughed and walked over to Emma, giving her a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. Emma smiled. "For me?" She asked, shocked. "Really?"
David nodded. "I wasn't sure what your favorite flowers were, so I just went with roses." He told her.
"Thanks David." She got up and hugged him. "No one's ever done that for me before." She said breaking the hug. "I mean… Neal got me flowers, but they were stolen..." She said trailing off. "Anyways, thank you David, it means a lot."
After about 30 minutes, it was time for David and Mary Margaret to go on their date. "Okay Emma, I should be home in about 2 hours. You know the rules."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Don't disappear for another 2 hour in the cold with a jacket. Got it." She joked, receiving a glare from Mary Margaret. "I know Mare. No leaving and no inviting anyone over. I know, relax and go have fun on your date."
"Call us if you need anything. I'm serious Em."
Emma sighed. "Mare. I'm 16, I'll be fine on my own for 2 hours. Go Mare. I'll see you later."
XXX
A while after Mary Margaret and David left- not long before they're due back- Emma got a phone call.
"Hello?"
"You are receiving a call from the Phoenix Correctional Facility. Would you like to collect this call? Yes or no."
Emma heaved a sigh. "Yes."
"Emma? Is it you?"
"Yeah Neal. It's me. What do you want?"
She could hear him let out a sigh of relief. "I just… Happy Valentine's Day Ems."
She couldn't help but smile. "Thank you Neal."
"Did you get my letter? Has my father asked about me? I left him a letter too, but he can be persistent."
"I got your letter Neal. Your father hasn't asked about you."
"I told him that I'd be back one day, but I didn't want to communicate with him at all." He sighed. "How are you… and the baby?"
"We're good Neal."
He sighed. "Ems, I don't have a long time to talk but I have to tell you something. It's gonna sound crazy, but you have to believe me."
"Okay…"
"There's a curse. It's your destiny to break this curse. The original prophecy said you'd break the curse at 28, but you found Storybrooke early. It's your destiny Ems. You will break this curse, but first… first you have to believe Emma. You must believe."
"Neal, you're not making any sense."
"I know I'm not. I have to go now Ems. I love you. I miss you." He ended the call.
Emma was so engrossed in the phone call, she didn't hear Mary Margaret and David come inside. "That was weird."
"What was weird?" Mary Margaret asked, startling Emma. "Sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to scare you."
Emma sighed. "It's fine… Neal just called and he wasn't making any sense." She sighed. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Where's David?"
"Downstairs. He's waiting for us. We're all gonna go out for ice cream." Mary Margaret said.
Emma smiled brightly. "How'd the date go?"
"Great." Mary Margaret said with a bright smile. "We uh… we exchanged 'I love yous'. I'm pretty sure I cried."
Emma smiled. "That's amazing!" She said and hugged her foster mother. "So, where are we going for ice cream?"
"There's this ice cream shop that just opened- a few weeks ago- by some woman- Sarah Fisher."
XXX
The three walked into the new ice cream shop. "Hello? Are you still open?" David called out upon the three of them entering the shop.
The woman turned around and Emma gasped. "Ingrid?" She said with her eyes widened in fear. She placed a protective hand over her belly.
"Emma." The woman breathed out with a smiled on her face.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
The woman stepped forward and Emma stepped back. "Ever since you came to Storybrooke, I've been waiting for you to come into my shop." She said stepping from behind the counter, coming closer to Emma. "I wanted to give you your space. Thought you'd come to me."
"My space?" Emma questioned. "Are you out of your mind? Are you following me?"
The woman shook her head. "There are so many thing i wanted to say, so many things I wanted to tell you. Look at you. You're growing up."
Ingrid reached to caress Emma's face. Emma's hands flew up and pushed Ingrid's away. "Don't touch me!"
"Who are you?" David questioned, pulling Emma behind him. "Because your name's obviously not Sarah Fisher."
Ingrid ignored him and kept staring at Emma. "After you ran away, I looked for you. But then I came to Storybrooke to wait for you. People don't really age here like they do in a world without magic. The apprentice was right. I mean, you're earlier than expected, but here you are."
"The apprentice? Magic? You're even loonier than when I ran away." Emma retorted stepping back in front of David.
Ingrid shook her head. "You know that this place is special. You know that you're special."
"No!" She snapped and Mary Margaret grabbed her hand for comfort. "I know that you screwed up my life! I know that you're crazy! Crazy then! Crazy now! You tried to kill me! Get out of my way, I'm leaving."
Ingrid placed her hands on Emma's forearms. "No you're not."
"That's enough!" Mary Margaret said, stepping in between Emma and Ingrid, David following suit. "Don't touch my daughter." She said. Mary Margaret put her arm over Emma's shoulders. "Come on sweetie, we're leaving."
XXX
As soon as they got back to the loft, Emma ran up the stairs without saying a word to either Mary Margaret or David.
"I'll be right back." Mary Margaret said and gave David a short kiss, then headed upstairs and saw Emma lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Hey sweetie." She said and sat on the edge of Emma's bed.
"I don't wanna talk about it." She whispered.
"You don't have to Emma. You'll come to me when your ready. I know that." Mary Margaret kissed Emma's forehead and tucked her in. "I love you sweetheart. I'll see you in the morning."
Mary Margaret was reaching for the lamp when she heard Emma's soft voice. "Mare?" She stopped what she was doing and looked down at Emma. "I love you too."
Mary Margaret kissed her forehead again, then turned the lamp off and made her way downstairs to her boyfriend. "Hey."
"Did she talk about it?" He asked her.
Mary Margaret shook her head. "No, but she will. I've learned that pushing her won't get you anywhere, I've tried that. She'll talk to me… or us, when she's ready."
XXX
Emma woke up and walked down the stairs and saw David and Mary Margaret cooking together. She walked over and sat at the kitchen island. "Morning." She mumbled.
"Good morning sweetheart."
Emma looked between Mary Margaret and David. "Did you spend the night?" David nodded. "You guys didn't… you know-"
"Emma!" Mary Margaret scolded, but was interrupted by David's laughter. "No Emma, we didn't you know."
Emma just continued laughing with David. "What's for breakfast?" Emma asked after their laughter died down.
"That would be pancakes. My homemade pancakes. You'll love 'em."
XXX
The three of them we're all sitting at the table doing a puzzle in pretty much silence. "She was my last foster mother… before I started living on the streets. Before I met Neal." She sighed. "We were on a walk and she started going on about some sort of self revelation." She moved a few puzzle pieces around on the table. "The next thing I know, she's grabbing my hand and pulling me in the middle of the street, telling me to stop the car." She sighed again. "Like I said, crazy."
XXX
The next day, David arrested Ingrid Fisher for attempted murder and she was transported out of Maine by a one-time outsider.
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