"Emma, honey, why did you bring the Evil Queen back to Storybrooke?" Snow asked her daughter, as if she were a child who brought frogs into the house. Roni rolled her eyes.
"She's not the Evil Queen anymore!" Emma defended. "The last four years, she's been a bartender in Seattle. She didn't even want to come back, but her business burned down and she needed a place to stay."
"She's been the Evil Queen longer than you've been alive. Four years isn't going to make a difference." David replied. "We have given her plenty of chances to change and she didn't."
"But back then, she still had Rumplestiltskin manipulating her. She had to be properly free from all of that to be able to change. Which she has!." Emma and Snow continued to fight. Meanwhile, Henry stood staring at the woman who cared for him the first ten years of his life. She was visibly agitated from his Grandma's words, but she looked good, like those four years away lifted the weight of the world from her shoulders. She used to always look sad, worried, or angry, but right now, there was an aloofness in her posture.
The day he found out Regina had disappeared, he had been frightened. He thought maybe someone had taken her to get revenge, but they soon learned she left everything to his family. They all figured it was Regina's way of surrendering and moved on with their lives, but Henry couldn't. When Emma first came to town, Regina had fought hard to keep him to herself. Then the curse broke and she just gave up? She left town and moved on with her life. He began to feel bad about all those times he ran from her, pushed her away. She'd given up on him and it was all his fault. She didn't even look at him since she came downstairs. She didn't love him anymore.
Henry could feel tears threaten to spill and felt he had to get out of there. He dropped his backpack and ran past Regina or Ronny or whatever her new name was and locked himself up in his room. He could hear Snow blame Emma for upsetting him. He blocked their argument by holding his pillow over his ears.
"Enough!" Roni shouted. The remaining Charmings paused and turned their heads towards the former queen. "I know when I'm not wanted. Just give me a minute to pack my things." Roni hurried upstairs to Emma's room.
"Change of plans, Len. We're leaving." Regina gathered the cat's carrier and secured him inside. She threw out the litter inside his litter box and set it next to the carrier. She took the box of litter and bagged the cat food and set both inside the litter box for easy lifting. Roni frowned when she realized that was everything. No, she forgot the single outfit she had put in Emma's hamper. She fished those out and folded them up, placing them on top of the cat supplies. That was it. All her possessions in the world.
Roni pulled out her phone and looked up nearby motels she could stay in. There was one, right off the highway just outside of town. If she managed her remaining funds well enough, she could stay there a week. Hopefully, she could find a temp job in that time. She would have to start fresh once again.
Roni took her things into her arms and took a calming breath. She could do this. She carefully made her way down the stairs and past the Charmings. She would have to walk all the way to the motel, since she left her old car back in Seattle. God, why was she so stupid?! She should have stayed in Seattle. But Emma Swan just had to fill her with hope that things would be fine. She should stop listening to blondes.
"Mom!" Roni had hardly gotten past the gate when she heard the voice. It was deeper than she was used to, but there was to mistaking who it came from. Roni turned around to see Henry in the doorway. He ran towards her and without hesitation, she set everything down and let him run into her arms. Henry held on tight, sobbing into her shoulder. Roni rubbed his back soothingly, trying to calm him down. God, he was so tall! She used to have to kneel to be eye to eye, but now he was almost as tall as her!
"Don't leave me again." Henry cried, his words muffled by her shoulder. Roni felt torn. She didn't want to leave, especially if Henry wanted her to stay, but his family - his real family - could easily have her arrested for literally anything.
"I have to." Roni whispered softly.
"But I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was a little brat to you. I thought you didn't love me, that you were keeping me as part of your revenge." Henry's voice broke several times, further reminding Roni that her little boy was growing up. But he wasn't quite hers, was he?
"Adopting you was never about revenge. I adopted you because I wanted a family." Roni explained. "And I was incredibly lucky to have you for ten years. But I knew you weren't happy with me. I signed those papers and left because I wanted to see you happy again."
"Even if you weren't?" Henry asked.
"Yes. Your happiness was more important." Roni could feel her own tears leaking from her eyes. All these years, she had nightmares that Henry would never forgive her. That returning to Storybrooke would be walking to her grave, but right now, there was that blasted spark of hope growing in her chest.
"Stay with us." Henry requested. "Please?" Roni was powerless to deny his plea.
Dinner that night had been awkward for everyone except Neal, who played happily with his food. Roni excused herself early and hid out in Emma's living room. She distracted herself by watching her favorite show on her phone.
"Dammit, Alejandro! This is why Leticia wrote you out of her will!" Roni exclaimed.
"You watch Pasión y Tragedia, too?" Emma asked, having just heard Roni as she walked by.
"Yes. Alejandro is a spoiled bastard who's going to get himself killed." Roni frowned.
"He's the main character. They can't kill him off or they have no show." Emma commented as she leaned against the couch to get a view of the screen.
"On the contrary. Maria is a strong enough character to carry the show without him." Roni replied. Dramatic music caught their attention, so they stopped talking and watched the dramatics unfold. Emma ended up settling on the couch beside Roni and they both watched the novela.
"¡No puedes irte porque estoy teniendo a tu bebé!"
"Oh no she didn't!" Emma exclaimed.
"You understand what they're saying?" Roni questioned.
"Nope. But I'm good at guessing. She either said she was pregnant with his baby, or she has an evil twin." Emma answered. Roni laughed.
"Was I off?" Emma asked. If she was, then she was going to be so lost on the storyline.
"No, you were right. Felicia is pregnant with Alejandro's baby." Roni answered.
"Poor Maria. She's trying so hard to forgive Alejandro, and this happens. She should just dump him and date Emilia." Emma commented.
"Emilia?"
"Yeah! They have great chemistry and have you seen the way they look at each other? That's true love right there!"
"But they're just friends." Roni countered.
"Friends that should smooch!" Emma added. "They look at each other the way my parents do." Said women were talking on screen and Emma could tell Roni was watching them in a new light.
"You're right. They are so gay." Roni whispered, not wanting to miss a second. Emma merely grinned and continued watching.
"You know," Emma said once the episode was over. "I never got to tell you that I kinda like that rocker chick look you got going on." Roni smiled and blushed.
"I sometimes feel like I'm finally going through my rebellious teen phase." Roni said. "I'm just trying to find myself, let go of regret and guilt, and just... be me. No more facades, no more masks. Just me."
"Good. Because you look a lot happier being yourself." Emma said. Roni smiled at her and Emma smiled back. "Hey, it's getting late. Where do you want to sleep tonight?"
"I'll be fine here." Roni answered.
"You sure? If you feel too uncomfortable, you're free to take one of the guest rooms or my bed. I promise I won't kick." Emma said. "I'll get you some blankets."
Emma brought Roni some blankets and a pillow, along with some pajamas. Roni dressed for bed and laid across the couch with the lights out. The day had been an emotional roller coaster for her. She never had to deal with this in Seattle. But Henry wanted her here, so here she'll stay. At least, for now.
A.N.: 1) The novela in the story is completely fictional, though halfway through writing it, I realized I was basically writing OUAT but in Spanish.
2) The Spanish was translated with an online translator, so blame any mistakes on that.
3) My family used to watch a novela and, even though I know about as much Spanish as a one year old, I was able to explain to my sister what was happening. I guess I'm really good at story comprehension.