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Chapter 4

Daughter's forgiveness, Mother's love

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The next morning, Emma stopped at a park where her family was waiting for her. As soon as she step out of the car, Henry came crashing into her, squeezing her into a tight hug. Emma didn't hug him back, keeping her tickling hands away from him. She kept her mind focus on one thing : the swing. Back and Forth. Back and Forth.

"Hey kid. You know I love you but please, take a step back. I don't want to hurt you again."

"You won't mom. I know you won't."

"But I did Henry. Listen," Emma bent down little so her face was at the same height as Henry's. Her parents were a few meters away, waiting for them to be finished and Emma thanked them for that. "I'm learning with Regina. She's teaching me to control it but as long as I'm not sure I won't hurt anyone, I need you to be careful."

"But it was an accident. And it was my fault really."

"Of course it wasn't," Emma answered with crushing feeling of guilt.

"Henry, your mom is right."

Emma straitened her spine and looked at her mother. Snow was smiling to her, little Neal asleep in her arms. The face she had made just after Emma had hurt David got stuck in the blonde's head for the past two days. Fear. There had been only fear in her mother's eyes.

"I know you didn't want to hurt anyone, Emma. And I'm so sorry I made you feel like you needed to run away." Snow stretched her arm and gently petted Emma's shoulder. "I got scared for Neal, and then for your father. I'm not trying to find excuses but please forgive me for that. It won't happen again."

"We love you, Emma," David added. "And we know you need time but don't forget we are here for you."

"And we are not scared of you, or your powers. I just got scared of the situation."

David was just behind Snow, a hand on her shoulder. Emma smiled weakly, feeling guilty and scared. And in pain. They were really trying hard but all she could think of was that they were good people, people she loved, and she had scared them and injured them.

"Come back home," Henry said. "You don't need to sleep in your car."

"You're sleeping in you car?!"

"No, I'm not. I'm staying at Regina's. She's been teaching me how to control my magic and she cast a spell on one of her rooms so that I don't set fire to the house."

"I can come with you then. I'll be with you and my mom."

"Henry, I... If you want to come back of course you can. It's just... I..."

"I think you mother need a little time for herself," David said, coming to her rescue. "She just needs to be around people she is sure not to hurt accidentally."

"But you're won't! And it's my home anyway."

Emma couldn't get herself to ask Henry to leave her alone for a few days. It was his home, his room, she couldn't ask him that. Plus, Regina would just throw her out at soon as Henry would ask her to come back.

"David..."

Snow looked at her husband and David nodded.

"We were planning on moving out," Snow said.

"We found a house not far from the forest, with four room so all of you could have your own," David added.

"And you could keep the apartment. It's paid and you already have your things there, and there is a room for Henry."

"I can't just take your place."

"Yes, you can," Snow insisted. "We never had to pay for you studies or your closes or even your food. Just... let us give you that at least."

"Have you bought the house already?"

It was a lot to take in very fast and Emma didn't really know if all of this was good news or bad news. And it didn't solve the problem of Henry wanting to stay with her.

"We're signing tomorrow," David answered. "We should be moving in this weekend."

"We are not running away from you Emma. You need your own place and you'll have your own room in this new house."

"And that way, you can take all the time you need to solve your problem with magic. Without having to share with Regina."

Emma felt a wave of relief running through her. She almost reached out to hug her parents but stopped herself. Snow didn't miss it and gave little Neal to David before pulling her daughter to her.

"I love you, Emma," her mother whispered to her hair. "And I'm sorry I messed up."

"You didn't. And I love you too."

Emma pulled away and turned to her son, cupping his face in her hands.

"Henry I can't tell you not to go back home if you want to but..."

"But you don't want me to. It's OK mom. I just... Promise me you wont get rid of your magic because of me. And that this won't last forever."

Emma felt her heart being crushed by guilt.

"I promise kid. I promise."

At three pm sharp, Emma opened the door to the vault. This time Regina had arrived first. The sheriff followed the strange sounds the brunette was making into a room the had never seem, hidden behind a stone wall.

"There is a secret room in your secret vault?"

Regina jumped, putting a hand on her heart.

"Sorry..."

"The point of it being secret, Swan, is that people are not suppose to enter."

"Then maybe you should have closed the secret door."

Why was Regina pissed? The door had been open and the former queen was expecting her. It wasn't like Emma had tracked her down her. The brunette turned around and snapped her fingers. The sheets that she hand been handling by hand suddenly flew off and the bed started making itself all on it's own. Emma looked at the covers and pillows with marvel.

"You're like a fairy," she said without thinking.

Regina turned to her, looking half pissed and half baffled by the comment.

"I don't fly around looking like a punk jellyfish."

"I meant, like the ones from Sleeping Beauty. Using magic to bake the cake and saw the dress."

"Well this is not a house keeping lesson. Get out, and light the candles."

Emma obeyed, her mind still half wondering what that room was for. Just as she walked back in the main room, all the candles lit with a bright flame. The blonde turned to her teacher, pleased with herself.

"Wait. Before we start you need to know that I spoke with Henry. He wanted to get back to your place but I... I kind of asked him not to..."

"You did what?"

"I'm sorry. I now I didn't have the right..."

"You're damn right you didn't have the right! He is my son and I'm not offering you my hospitality for you to keep him away from me!"

Regina looked furious. Her voice was getting to that scary tone that made chill run down Emma's spine.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll... I'll just call him and tell him..."

"Tell him what? That your going to sleep in your car? That should make thing better!"

"Ok. I screwed up but what else was I suppose to say?"

Emma was starting to loose her temper. She could fell the room vibrating with magic but she was too pissed to think of the swing. To her surprise, Regina didn't answer. The brunette just rubbed her forehead, eyes closed, so tensed Emma could feel the air hardening around her. The Evil Queen wasn't far, trying to pull herself out of the shadows.

"Snow and David are moving out of the apartment in a few days. As soon as that happens, I'll be able to stay there. They are giving me the place."

"And then Henry will want to stay with you..."

Regina whispered so low that, for a second, Emma thought she hadn't heard right. To her own surprise, she didn't fell any guilt, just sympathy. When Henry/Pan had chosen to stay with Regina it had hurt like hell. The brunette had been separated from her son for over a year, and even now that he was back she didn't see him all that much. Emma could only imagine the pain she had to be in.

Before the blonde figured out what to say, Regina had pulled herself together again. In a mater of second, they had felt the vault and where back in the forest, Emma in the middle of a rope bridge.

"Seriously?"

Regina didn't answer, her face turned to stone, and the ropes started breaking one by one. Emma pushed the fear back and focused. At first nothing happened and then, the ropes turned shinny and white.

"Ice. No bad," Regina commented from the edge of the cliff.

"Regina can we talk about this before you start trying to kill me again?"

"No."

The wooden floor she was on started to collapse and Emma focused once more. The all bridge turned to ice but, as Emma was contemplating her accomplishment, she heard a loud crack. She turned to Regina but the former queen had her hands raised in front of her.

"That's not me, dear."

The bridge cracked once more, trembling and losing part of it's ice. Emma slammed her hand on each side of the icy structure and it all stopped moving, suddenly looking a little different. Without wondering what had happened, Emma rushed to the edge of the platform, pulling herself out of danger.

"Crystal... Who knew you had taste...?"

"You really are a good teacher."

Emma was mesmerized by the sight of the bridge. It shone under the sun like a giant piece of jewelry.

"Actually you even taught Henry well," Emma suddenly said, putting pieces together in a way she had never done.

"I'm not following."

"You could have made him evil, but you didn't. Henry has a strong sense of right and wrong, and he wants to be a hero but that's because you raised him that way. You never tried to make him..."

"Like me?" Regina completed.

Emma made a sorry face, she really hadn't meant for it to sound like that.

"I didn't want to make with him the mistakes my mother had made with me. I didn't want us to be... destructive like that."

"You were not responsible for her death," Emma said, not really being able to feel sorry for the dead woman that had almost destroyed them all.

"I know that. Snow killed her," Regina answered without a ounce of guilt. "But I did push her though a mirror with the intention never to see her again. For years I even though I had killed her."

Emma must have looked really startled because Regina added with a cold smile: "Yes, like I told you, it was a destructive relationship."

"You didn't destroy anything with Henry."

"Didn't I?" Regina suddenly pulled her mask back on, looking cold and controlled once more. "Anyway, back to your lesson."

She waved a hand and the bridge crumbled down with the sound of a thousand Tinkerbells.

"Rebuild the bridge. The rope one."

Emma tuned to the cliff but she was still trying to find something to say.

"The memories you gave me, of me raising Henry, are their yours?"

"Most of them yes. I wanted his life you be as little of a lie as it could be. Even with the fake memories. Are you going to rebuilt that bridge?"

Emma put her hand in front of her and started working on the ropes and wood. It was a lot harder than just turning something into ice or crystal. She had to create. It took her almost on hour to make something that looked like the original bridge.

"What are you doing?!" Emma cried out.

"Checking that you did your job well, Miss Swan."

"Are you crazy?! That thing could collapse."

But Regina didn't stop, walking all the way to the other side of the bridge before poofing herself back to her side.

"The bridge is perfect. Now you will get to the 'homework' you were so eager to start."

"Regina, I..."

But Emma didn't know what to say. She wanted to find the magic word, make things better, try to ease Regina's pain, but she could come up with anything.

"Eloquent as usual," the former queen commented.

But then the brunette did something strange. She grabbed Emma by the wrist, giving her a gentle squeeze, before teleporting them back to the vault. As soon as they arrived the touch disappeared. Leaving Emma with a strange feeling of joy.