I don't think you guys realize how long I've been waiting for this day. I've had this chapter planned since Day 21. Which is a long time. Enjoy!
Today was the day that Emma Swan dreaded the most. Her birthday was the day she had come to Storybrooke, which was good. But it also symbolized getting a year older. Which was something Emma had never looked forward to.
As a child in the system, getting a year older meant you were less likely to get adopted. Parents wanted a baby that they could raise. Not an older child who had a rough past. No one wanted to deal with baggage.
Emma had learned quickly that she would never be adopted. At about 10 she realized that she had hit the age where no one ever got adopted.
Granted, she had met Ingrid and had thought that she would be the one to take her in. But then she had been crazy and almost killed Emma by pushing her out in front of a car.
Even as an adult, Emma still hated her birthday. It brought back the feelings of being alone and forgotten. Of being unwanted.
So naturally, no one actually knew when Emma's birthday was. Except for Emma herself.
Snow and David had tried several times to figure out when it was, but with the curse and the stress of that day, they couldn't remember what day Emma was actually born on. They had tried to ask her, but she shut down every time and told them it wasn't important.
Regina had asked shortly after they had gotten married, hoping that her wife status would get her the answer. No such luck.
Henry had tried, but Emma was immune to his puppy dog eyes. She had the same ones.
Regina had tried everything to find out when it was the easy way, but Emma was making things difficult. So, she had taken to the hard way. Finding the original newspaper article that Emma had been featured in as a baby.
It would have helped if August were around to spill the beans about what day it was when he and Emma had arrived in this world. But that wasn't an option.
Regina stood in the sheriff station, Henry keeping lookout. Emma still had the article; she knew that for a fact. But where was it?
"What do I do if she comes back?" Henry asked.
"Hopefully it won't come to that," Regina said, pulling Emma's desk drawers open. "But if she comes back, just say that you were waiting for her to talk. And then just make stuff up."
Henry rolled his eyes. "That's very helpful Mom, thank you."
Regina chuckled. "Got it!" She pulled it out of the drawer and smiled at Henry before grabbing his hand and poofing them both back to the mansion.
"So when is it?" Henry asked, once the purple smoke had cleared away.
Regina looked at the article, her jaw dropping as she saw what day it was. "Her birthday is today."
"Really?" Henry asked. "Well we got lucky. What are we going to do? We don't have time to plan anything."
Regina bit her lip as she thought about it. "Maybe we don't need to plan anything."
"What do you mean?" Henry asked.
"I may not have gotten the date out of her," Regina said. "But I know why she doesn't like her birthday. Getting a year older meant you were less likely to be adopted into a family."
"So what do we do?" Henry asked.
"We're going to make it simple," Regina said. "If we do something too big, she'll get spooked and never want to do anything ever again."
"What if we take her out of town?" Henry suggested. "We had some good times in New York. Maybe if we took her there, she would be happy because of the memories we made. And we could introduce you to New York."
"I like it," Regina said, pulling Henry in for a hug. "Let's go get her."
"What's going on?" Emma asked as Regina and Henry walked into the station.
"We're kidnapping you," Regina said. "Let's go."
"Where are we going?" Emma asked. "And why?"
"We're going out of town," Henry said. "It was my idea."
"Why though?" Emma asked.
Regina held up the article that she had stolen from Emma's desk. "Because today is a special day."
Emma's eyes widened and she quickly stood up, snatching the article from Regina. "You stole this from my desk?"
"For a good reason," Regina said. "You wouldn't tell me when you're birthday was, so I had to take extra measures."
Emma turned and put the article back in her desk before sitting back down in her chair. "I'm not going anywhere. I have work to get done."
Regina looked at Henry before motioning for him to leave the office. Henry nodded before leaving and walking into David's office.
Regina sighed before sitting next to Emma's desk. "Talk to me."
"There's nothing to talk about," Emma said, going back to working.
"But there is," Regina argued. "Emma, this is the day you were born. It's a day to celebrate."
"On my birthday, I was put into a wardrobe and sent to a different world," Emma said. "I don't see how that's a day to celebrate."
"Look at me, Emma," Regina commanded gently. Emma paused before looking hesitantly at Regina. "Your birthday is the day you came into the world. Without that day, you would never have existed. I would never have met you, and I can't imagine being in a world where you do not exist."
Emma sighed. "Of course you have to make it all romantic and guilt trip me."
"I'm not guilt tripping you into anything," Regina said, chuckling. "We don't have to go if you don't want to. But I think that you should."
"Why?" Emma asked.
"Because you have a family who loves you now," Regina said. "There's no more risk of not being adopted. You have a family, and this day needs to be celebrated."
Emma sighed. "Okay. We can go out of town."
After a day full of sightseeing, Emma was the happiest she had ever been on her birthday. As they drove back to Storybrooke, Emma looked in the rear-view mirror and smiled at Henry fast asleep in the backseat.
"So, was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?" Regina asked.
Emma smiled. "No. I actually had fun. Thank you for making me go."
"I didn't make you do anything," Regina said. "I just strongly suggested it."
Emma laughed. "That's basically the same thing."
Regina just smiled. "Happy Birthday."
Emma laughed. "Thank you."
"So does that mean that we can do something for your birthday every year?" Regina asked.
Emma laughed. "Sure. We can do something every year."