Chapter 15
Ruby and Belle decided to go home to Granny's to celebrate. Ruby was quite anxious about her grandmother's reaction to this, but Belle assured her it would be fine.
"Well hello there!" Granny smiled when the two of them walked inside.
"Ehm Hi Granny..." Ruby greeted and bit her lip. "I have something I have to tell you"
"Well go on then, my dear, I promise I won't bite." Granny chuckled and Belle nudged Ruby's side.
"I've decided to move in with Belle." Ruby shrugged. "I meant to talk to you about it first, but I guess I kinda forgot? I was just so excited... and I'm sorry."
"Ruby, why are you sorry? This is wonderful news! How about we celebrate this, Hm?"
"You're happy?" Ruby frowned confused.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Granny said and hugged her foster daughter. "I'm so proud of you Ruby. This is a big deal. Even though you're moving out I hope you don't forget your grandmother."
"Nah, I promise!" Ruby grinned and Granny hugged her again.
"Oh, you're getting so big Ruby!" Granny said, eyes full of pride. Even Belle was touched by the proud emotion behind the statement. She was so happy to be a part of this family.
Emma felt sick to her stomach. All the years of abuse she had gone through were spinning in her head. She couldn't just stand by and watch Regina go through it too. She had to defend her.
"I'm following you home" Emma said and bit her lip nervously.
"Emma, you can't.." Regina said with a low voice. Emma sighed and took a step forward then cupped Regina's face in her hands.
"I can and I will." Emma replied strongly. "I don't care what your mother thinks or says. You're my girlfriend Regina! I'm not gonna stand by and let some idiot hurt you."
"It's not so bad." Regina sighed and released herself. "He's not so bad…."
"Maybe not this time." Emma snapped. "It always gets worse. Trust me! I know, and like, what if he loses it and rapes you? You think maybe that's what your sick mother wants? To get you pregnant so you just magically turn straight?!"
"Emma I..."
"Regina please trust me! Let me help you. I don't want anything to happen to you okay?" Regina dried her eyes and nodded.
"I'll call granny when we get to your house." Emma stated and kissed Regina. The kiss was a promise. A promise that she would keep her girlfriend safe. At any cost.
When they arrived at the mansion Regina was worried. How will Daniel react to Emma's presence? Will he hurt her? Regina gritted her teeth and wished her dad was still alive. She shook her head at her own thoughts. She always wanted him around in chaos like this, but she had to realize that he was still, and always will be, dead. He couldn't save her. Not now. Not ever again. What am I gonna do?
"Miss Mills. Miss Swan." Rosita smiled when the two girls walked inside. "Hungry?"
"No thank you Rosita." Regina replied and grabbed Emma's hand.
When they made it upstairs Emma stopped. Regina frowned and looked at her. Was Emma gonna run now? Was she about to freak out?
"Does your Dad's room still exist?" she asked.
"Daddy's room?" Regina asked for clarification. "Well yes. Why do you ask?"
"I can feel the anxiety in your fingertips Regina, because you're holding my hand so tight you're almost crushing it." Emma shrugged and gave Regina a kiss on her cheek. "I want you to relax and you always do when you talk about him. So I thought you may ehm, want to show me his room?" Regina's nervousness was rolling off of her in waves and making Emma nervous as well.
Regina hesitated for a moment. Regina tried not to go into the place where her father died. It reminded her that he was gone and not coming back. She had wanted to, but she had avoided it. The room still looked as it had when Henry was alive.
Cora wanted to redecorate it, insisting they needed the space, but Regina had refused. Her mother had just rolled her eyes, then decided to let it be, to Regina's surprise.
Regina snapped back to reality as she felt Emma nudge her shoulder. The blonde was so beautiful, so unbelievably beautiful and she didn't push Regina. She just wanted Regina to focus on something that made her happy, but the blonde was patient and Regina knew her Daddy would have absolutely loved her. He would have been head over heals about their relationship, and he would have been their biggest supporter. Regina felt a smile form on her lips at the thought.
"Okay. I'll show you" Regina replied and lead Emma to a part of the house that almost felt like a different home altogether. She took a deep breath and felt Emma's hand gently squeeze hers once again. Their eyes met before Regina opened the bedroom door.
It was like being hit by years of unresolved feelings, Regina thought as she opened the door to her Daddy's room. She almost expected him to be sitting in his old armchair, reading some old book as he smoked a cigar.
"Wow, it's beautiful." Emma said carefully to break the silence, which Regina was thankful for.
"Thank you, dear." Regina replied and felt how her heart was aching. "Mind if I look around?" Regina shock her head at the question and sat down on her father's bed. Regina didn't know if she imagined it or not, but the whole room smelled like him. Daddy I miss you.
Emma walked over to Henry's desk and smiled at all the pictures he had there, and all over the walls. It was all kinds of different pictures. Some were of Regina, some were of them together with Cora. She even saw a picture of Regina with Belle and Ruby. He must really have loved her.
"He seems to have been quite an extraordinary man, your father." Emma said and turned around. She saw the sadness mixed with happiness in Regina's eyes.
"Oh he was. He was the best dad anyone could have asked for." Regina replied and Emma nodded.
"Tell me something about him."
"Come again?" Regina frowned.
"Tell me anything. I know it's hard but I know it will help you process all of this. You need to talk about him, you know?" Emma replied and sat down next to her girlfriend. "I know I'm not that good at sharing my past, but it's not that fun to talk about. You though, have so many fantastic memories of him and I want to hear every one of them. It may help you in your grieving process."
"Emma, sometimes you really shock me." Regina smiled and Emma just shrugged. "So, what do you want to hear about?"
"Anything" Emma grinned and Regina paused to collect her thoughts for a bit before she started to tell her a story.
"Daddy!" Regina giggled as she ran into Henry's arms. She was merely 6 years old, but she behaved like she was older. Probably because Cora was always on her about behaving like a lady and not some slob. Henry didn't agree with her tactics and let Regina be what she was, just a happy little kid.
Henry had just come home from a business trip. He had been away for a week, which was like a whole year to his young daughter. He scooped up Regina in his arms and placed kisses everywhere on her face, making the little girl giggle.
Regina was Henry's pride and joy. The twinkle in his eye. He was determined to let Regina know just how much he loved her.
"Regina, my dear girl!" he chuckled. "Have you missed me?"
"Yes!" Regina giggled and snuggled close, brushing her face against his beard. "I always miss you Daddy! I don't like when you go away.."
"I know dear, but Daddy needs to work so he can afford the thing you wish for every birthday and Christmas, okay?" Henry smiled and Regina thought for a second about what he meant. She gasped and beamed up.
"A pony?! You work so I can get a pony?!"
"Precisely Regina, precisely" Henry said and pecked her nose.
Suddenly the two of them were interrupted by Cora and the joy and happiness in Regina's eye just disappeared. Henry sighed and his heart broke. A daughter shouldn't react like this when seeing her mother.
He knew Cora had grown up with a terrible family, but he wished she would try to to be better than her own parents. He knew she could be a wonderful mother, if she just wanted to.
Regina didn't see that side of Cora very often though. He signed again and met his wife's dark eyes as he put Regina down on the ground. If it had been any other child, the child would have run to her swing, but Regina didn't. She stood, almost frozen beside her father's side.
"Regina, manners. Don't look down at your feet when I'm speaking to you!" Cora huffed and the little girl got tense in a matter of seconds. Henry shook his head. He didn't understand why his wife had to be this strict.
"She's just a kid." Henry said and gave his wife a quick kiss on her cheek.
"That doesn't matter." Cora spat. "She has to learn manners as soon as possible"
"Nonsense" Henry shot back. "The thing that is important is that my daughter is happy!" Cora rolled her eyes and went back inside after the short greeting, slamming the door behind her. Henry looked down at his daughter and saw Regina smile again as it was just the two of them again.
"Mother is angry, Hm?" the little girl asked with one eyebrow raised.
"Tell me, when isn't she?" Henry chuckled. "Don't tell her I said that. Hm, let's go down to see the horses, shall we?"
"Yeah!"
Regina loved being in the stables with her Daddy. Well she loved being with him all the time, but especially in the stables. He was so good with the animals and she promised herself she would get that good one day too. Just to make her daddy proud.
"So, my little one, what do you say about a ride?" Henry asked, even though he knew the answer was always yes.
"Of course, Daddy!" the girl grinned.
"Well then" he said and once more scooped up the girl into his arms. "What are we waiting for?"
The horse Regina rode was a giant black stallion. He was a former race horse and Henry had made a lot of money with him. Now he was retired and living the life of his dreams as Henry spoiled him rotten. The horse's name was Titan, and he was enormous, but he was a gentle giant. Henry didn't even need to hold the reins, just make sure he had his pockets stuffed with treats, and the horse followed him at a gentle pace. Just like a trained dog. Regina sat on him with a big confident smile on her face, and Henry just smiled back at her.
"What do you say about some ice-cream at Granny's? I'm sure your friends Belle and Ruby are there and would join us."
"You're the best Daddy. Let's do that!" Regina grinned. He truly was. He had made sure he always had at least one day free just to spend with his daughter. Even if he was buried in paperwork, he always had time for his daughter. Cora on the other hand just saw Regina as a untrained dog, and let the maid act as a nanny when Henry wasn't home. Cora didn't even want kids in the first place. It was Henry who wanted a family, but since Cora was all about keeping up the appearances, she had agreed to at least one kid. It looked good for a politician.
"Hold on, did your Dad actually take you and his horse to Granny's?" Emma chuckled and interrupted the story.
"Yeah he did." Regina replied. "Daddy actually did that pretty often."
"I understand why you think I would have liked him. Actually, I would have been his biggest fan!" Emma said and took Regina's hand in hers. "He sounds almost as crazy as me"
"Well, like I said before, you are so much like him, in so many ways. He would have been our biggest supporter." Regina signed and dried her eyes. God how much she missed hem.
"I wish I had a dad like that, or you know, a foster father that had been half as sweet as Henry.. I guess Greg Swan was but.." Emma started, but stopped herself. She was feeling almost jealous of Regina's father. She didn't even know if her biological parents wanted her or not. Probably not, since they gave her up. She wondered if her father had even held her. Had her mother cried of happiness when she had been born, or had she cried of anxiety? Emma shook her head and met Regina's eyes. "Please continue the story." came Emma's quiet request
"Henry!" Ruby grinned and jumped up from the chair she was sitting in, just outside the diner then ran into the old man's arms. Ruby loved Henry just as much as Regina did. He was almost like a father to her as well. Since, well she only had Granny. Ruby had never met her father and probably never would, but Henry didn't mind being the 'replacement father'. He adored Ruby.
"Well hello there little one!" Henry chuckled and ruffled her long auburn hair. "Are you sitting here all by yourself?"
"Yes….because ehm.. Belle wasn't allowed to play today." Ruby pouted.
"Oh my." Henry said, making his voice sound a little silly, receiving a smile in response. "Do you think a banana split would cheer you up?"
"Yeah" Ruby replied and Henry just chuckled. He helped Regina of the big horse and gave the reins to his daughter. He knew the horse wouldn't take a step without him.
"Hey miss Lucas!" Regina said and hugged her friend. They were best friends even if they were each other's complete opposites. Cora didn't approve of their friendship at all, but Henry had given her a piece of her mind. So his wife had actually backed down.
"Stay here then girls, and I'll be right back." Henry grinned and went inside. The door to the diner was always left open this time of the year and the diner was empty for once, so the two girls heard everything from the inside.
"Henry, welcome Home!" Granny smiled and gave him a big hug.
"Thank you Eugenia" He replied with a smile.
"How is everything? How's business and how are little Ruby and Belle doing?"
"Same old, same old." she chuckled. "Business is booming and Belle and Ruby are doing good, well, except for their little adventure yesterday. God, I was so ashamed when I had to apologize to Belle's parents. That's why Ruby's sitting outside all by herself"
"Well, Ruby said Belle weren't allowed to play today, so please, fill me in. What did the two little rascals do?" Henry asked with a smile.
"Well, the two ran into the kitchen, without me noticing, and thought a ice cream war was something smart. Belle's parents were not pleased when I came home with their daughter. I guess kids will be kids Huh?" Granny said and Henry was laughing so much he almost cried as Granny continued the story. "As it turns out, my daughter seemed to be a little better at this whole ice-cream war, so when I found them, poor little Belle was covered in ice-cream and chocolate sauce, and Ruby had a little chocolate sauce in her hair. The kitchen looked like a tornado had gone through it though."
Emma cuddled close to Regina as she laid her arm around the blonde.
"I love hearing your stories about your dad." Emma grinned and pressed her lips against Regina's.
"Well, I'm happy you want to hear them. I feel closer to you when I share stuff like this."
"I feel the same Regina, and I want you to know that I trust you. I want to share my life with you too, but I'm not there yet. I hope you understand?" Emma asked and bit her lip. She tensed up but relaxed as Regina's grip around her tightened.
"I understand Emma, and we'll get there one day. Until then, I will gladly take about my Daddy with you. I love it. I have actually not talked about him since he died. Mother doesn't even want to hear his name." Regina shrugged sadly. "So it's fun to share this with you." Emma smiled and felt so happy about having such an understanding girlfriend. Suddenly they heard the door downstairs open and both girls froze as they heard a man call Regina's name.