This chapter is for amywood.581 with the prompt: "Tree house"

When Emma had moved into the mansion, she had only brought a few boxes. Regina was shocked at the lack of items that she owned, but then had remembered that Emma had been sent to a multitude of homes, and probably hadn't collected too many things.

Several months later, Snow discovered a shoebox in Emma's old closet. Curious, she had looked inside, only to find several piles of pictures. Shocked, she had called Emma about them, only to have Emma show up and quickly take them.

Emma probably could have hidden the box in a better spot, but Snow finding it had caught her off guard.

"What's this?" Regina asked, picking up the shoebox that had been half out from under their bed. "And what is it doing under our bed?"

"Sorry, just threw it under there," Emma said, grabbing the box from her. "Snow found it at the apartment."

"What is it?" Regina asked.

Emma shrugged. "Just some old stuff from when I was younger. You know, the stuff that you can't throw away because of the memories."

Regina sat on the bed and looked at her with narrowed eyes. "So why can't I see inside it?"

"Who said you couldn't?" Emma countered.

"You and the way that you're holding onto that box like your life depends on it," Regina said. Emma blushed before holding out the box.

Regina smiled before taking it. She took off the lid and gasped at all of the pictures inside. "What are these pictures of?"

Emma sat down next to her on the bed. "Pictures of the best foster home that I ever had."

"You had a good foster home?" Regina asked in surprise. The only times that she had heard about Emma's foster home experience, it was usually a memory of something bad that had happened.

"Yeah," Emma said. "Only this one though. That's why I took pictures. So I would never forget."

Regina started going through the photos, marveling at how good some of them were. "You took really good pictures."

Emma laughed. "No need to sound surprised. I have many hidden talents."

Regina smiled before taking out a picture of a tree house. "Did they build you a tree house?"

"Yeah," Emma said, smiling at the memory. "I would always climb trees for fun, so they just decided to build me a tree house. That way I could be in the trees without getting hurt."

"That was nice of them," Regina said. "And it's very well built."

"It was," Emma agreed, taking the picture. "They spent a long time on it. I would sit up there for days and just enjoy being alone. It was my safe spot just to be able to think about things."

"Why would you take pictures?" Regina asked. "Did you know that something bad was going to happen?"

"Something bad always happened," Emma said. "I just wanted to be prepared. It was the best house that I was ever in. I didn't want to forget any of it. But I didn't take these until the day that I left."

"You ran away from them?" Regina asked.

"No, they were the only family I didn't run from," Emma said. "I turned 18 while I was with them. I could leave the foster system. I had the choice to either stay with them, or go on my way. I chose to go on my way."

"Even though you loved the family?" Regina asked in surprise. "Why would you want to leave?"

"They were never going to adopt me," Emma argued. "I wanted to get out before I was hurt again."

Regina looked at the picture thoughtfully. "Is the tree house still there?"

Emma shrugged. "No idea. I don't know if they even live in that house anymore."

Regina looked at the picture with a smile. "Let's go find out."

"What?" Emma asked, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Let's go find out," Regina repeated. "You remember where they live, right?"

"Of course," Emma said. "But like I said, I don't know if they still live there or not. Or if the tree house is still there."

"We'll never find out if we don't go looking," Regina said. "Let's go on an adventure."

A smile slowly appeared on Emma's face. "Okay. Let's go on an adventure."

Emma pulled up to the house that she remembered the most. Regina held up a picture from the shoebox. "It matches the house perfectly."

Emma sat in the bug, looking at the front door. "What if it's not them?"

Regina smiled before grabbing her hand. "What if it is?"

"Either way, I'm not sure I want to go to that door," Emma said.

"Yes you do," Regina said. "These were the people that actually made you happy. Why wouldn't you want to see them again?"

"What if they hate me for leaving?" Emma asked. "We had a good life. I just didn't want to get hurt."

"Even if they do hate you, I'm sure they'll be happy to know that you have a good life now," Regina said. "Come on. I'll go with you."

Emma sighed before getting out of the bug. Regina got out as well, walking around the bug and grabbing Emma's hand. Emma took a deep breath before walking towards the front door.

As they got to the front door, Emma paused. Did she want to ring the doorbell? Regina decided for her by leaning over and ringing it. "Regina Mills!" Emma hissed.

Regina just laughed before squeezing Emma's hand gently. "You weren't going to ring it."

Emma rolled her eyes and was about to respond when the door opened. An older woman stood there, and looked thoroughly confused until she saw Emma. "Emma Swan," she whispered.

Emma smiled shyly. "Hi Margaret."

Margaret's face lit up and she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Emma in a hug. Emma froze before letting go of Regina's hand and returning the hug.

"It's been so long," Margaret said.

"I know," Emma said.

Margaret pulled away and looked Emma up and down. "Well you look all right. Where have you been?"

Emma smiled. "In a little town in Maine called Storybrooke."

"I've never heard of it," Margaret said in skeptically.

"Most people haven't," Emma assured her. "It's pretty small and hidden. You have to be a special kind of person to find it."

"I see," Margaret said. "And who's this?"

Emma followed Margaret's gaze and saw Regina standing behind her. She had almost forgotten that Regina was there. Emma was about to reply honestly, but then thought about what Margaret would think. Would she be okay that Emma was married to another woman?

Margaret looked at Emma with concern. "Is everything okay?"

Regina watched Emma carefully. She too hadn't thought about what Margaret would think about them. But she would take her cues from Emma.

Emma turned back to Margaret. "Everything's great, sorry. I spaced out for a moment." She turned back to Regina and smiled before grabbing her hand and pulling her forward. "This is my wife, Regina."

Margaret looked shocked before smiling. "It's nice to meet you."

Emma must have looked surprised, because Margaret started laughing. "What, did you think I would kick you off my porch for being married to a woman? Come now Emma. You know me better than that."

Emma blushed. "Sorry Margaret."

"Oh where are my manners!" Margaret exclaimed. "Come on in! The house hasn't really changed since you left, but I'm sure that you'd like to see it."

"You have no idea," Emma said, following Margaret inside. Regina smiled before following Emma, who hadn't let go of her hand. Together, they were about to take a trip down memory lane.