A Year In Review
This next chapter is in December. Starts on the morning of Christmas Day. Flashbacks are italicized.
Emma Swan turned over in her bed as the scent of bacon wafted through the air. She groggily opened her eyes, and as they focused she was able to make out two figures standing above her bed. She let out a scream before she realized it was only her parents looking at her with an amused expression.
"Emma, its only us, don't worry" said Mary Margaret as she walked over to sit on the edge of Emma's bed.
"We just came to see if you were up. Breakfast is ready and there's presents ready to be opened," mentioned David as he leaned against the doorframe.
"I appreciate the gesture but you know a knock on the door would be nice," said Emma as she sat up in bed.
Mary Margaret bit her lip. "Yeah, sorry about that. We'll be waiting downstairs when you're ready. Merry Christmas!"
"Alright, I'll be down in a few minutes, Merry Christmas to you too" replied Emma. Mary Margaret gave Emma a smile as she walked out and David followed behind.
Emma sat in her bed for a few more minutes before she stood up. She went to go grab a pair of jeans from her drawer when she smirked and gave a flick of her wrist. She looked at herself in the mirror and was pleased to see that her magic had worked perfectly and her hair had even been done up. She walked downstairs and found her parents seated at the kitchen island.
"That was quick," remarked Mary Margaret as Emma appeared in the kitchen.
"Oh I just used magic to get dressed. It makes it much easier to get ready in the morning" said Emma.
"Hmm, sounds nice," replied Mary Margaret.
"So do we want to do presents or eat breakfast first?" asked David.
"Presents of course!" said Emma as she went to go sit over near the tree.
David and Mary Margaret followed behind her and took a seat in the living room.
"I, uh, have one for you guys," said Emma as she held up a moderately sized and nicely wrapped box. Mary Margaret took the box from Emma and began to gingerly unwrap the box as David groaned.
"What?" asked the brunette as she turned to face her husband. "We need to save the wrapping!"
David just rolled his eyes in response.
"It's a toaster, since I kinda broke your other one when I made toast a few weeks ago" sheepishly said Emma.
"Oh, this is great thank you Emma!" said Mary Margaret as she gave her daughter a hug. "We have one for you too, but it's not under the tree"
"Where is it?"
"Check your closet" said David with a wink. Emma went upstairs and opened her closet to reveal a dark green leather jacket.
"Oh my gosh, this is great!" said the blonde as she pulled the jacket on.
"It really brings out your eyes," said Mary Margaret as she placed a hand on Emma's shoulder.
"Thank you, this is one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever gotten" smiled Emma as her parents wrapped her in another hug. They spent the rest of the day chatting and spending time together and then later that afternoon started preparing for Christmas dinner.
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Regina Mills woke up on Christmas morning to find another body beside her in bed.
"Its Christmas!" yelled Henry. Regina went to reprimand him from yelling in the house but decided against it, instead she gave him a smile.
"Yes Henry, I'm quite aware of the fact. Go wait downstairs, I need to get dressed and I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Okay" said Henry as he raced downstairs. Regina went to go open her closet when she decided to stay in her sleepwear and made her way downstairs.
"You're not dressed," remarked Henry as she sat down beside him.
"I didn't feel like it, plus its more comfy" she replied as she wrapped an arm around him.
"I wanna give you your gift first" said Henry as he went to go pick up a small box from under the tree and handed it to her. Regina carefully unwrapped the gift and gasped as she held it up.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it Henry, its wonderful," said Regina as she placed the silver necklace with a small horse charm around her slender neck. She gave him a hug as he went to go fetch his own gift. He carefully unwrapped his own gift and found a shining copy of the storybook.
"This is great mom, thanks!" exclaimed Henry.
"Well it was looking a bit worn and tattered so I made a new cover and rebounded the pages." she said with a smile. "Of course, there's still other presents if you want to open those up too" she mentioned as she winked at him.
'Yeah!" shouted the boy. After Henry finished opening the gifts, Regina made their favourite breakfast and then the pair took a walk around town. They spent the rest of the day laughing and being in each other's company.
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Henry Mills jumped out of his mother's car as they arrived at the Charming's apartment. The pair walked up to the door and knocked and Emma answered it.
"Regina! Henry! Merry Christmas!" said the blonde as she opened the door wider.
"Hey Emma!" said Henry as he gave her a hug and raced inside.
"Merry Christmas Miss Swan" said Regina as Emma looked back up at her.
"Uh, thanks Regina. Do you want to stay for a bit?"
"No I should be getting home. I am tired and I would like to rest for a bit"
"Oh okay well thanks for dropping him off," said Emma with a smile.
"It was no problem" replied Regina as she gave a small smile back to the blonde, turned on her heel and got back into her car and drove away. Emma watched the car pull out of the driveway and then turned back to the apartment, when she entered she found Henry sitting on the floor with a present in his hands, and Mary Margaret carefully instructing him on how to open the present without ripping it.
"I know, I know," replied Henry with a laugh. "Mom always tells me the same thing"
Mary Margaret smiled as Henry finished opening it.
"Cool! A racecar! "exclaimed the boy after the wrapping had been shed.
"I saw in the store and thought that I would have wanted one when I was a young boy so I figured it would be a good gift for you" said David.
"Thanks! Its great"
"I have to go somewhere, I'll be right back" said Emma as she stood up.
"Where are you going?" asked Mary Margaret.
"To see a friend," replied the blonde as she disappeared in a cloud of grey smoke.
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Emma obviously didn't plan to end up in the Mayor's living room but her magic was still a bit wonky and well technically it wasn't trespassing since she already had a key.
"Your magic may have improved but your manners certainly haven't Miss Swan."
Emma whipped around to see Regina walking down the stairs from the second floor. Except this wasn't the Regina she was used to. The snark was still there but gone was the makeup, the stiffness, the tight outfits and heels. The brunette instead was wearing a pair of sweatpants, a ratty old t-shirt, fuzzy socks, and her hair was pulled up into a messy updo.
"Are you going to stand there and gawk or explain why you decided to appear in my living room without consent?" said Regina as she reached the bottom of the staircase and crossed her arms.
"Well, honestly it was because I noticed Mary Margaret reminding Henry to save the wrapping paper, which was a habit he picked up from you, so I just thought that you would be lonely." said Emma as she shrugged.
"You forget, most of the life skills that woman learned were taught to her by me." pointed out Regina as she went to go sit on the couch. Emma stayed rooted to her spot in the middle of the room.
"Well, come sit. I don't expect you're going to leave anytime soon"
"I was going to ask if you wanted to come to the apartment," said Emma as she took a seat beside the brunette on the couch. She flicked her wrist as the wood in the fireplace started crackling.
"Thank you. And no, as you can probably see I wasn't planning on leaving my house tonight, and I do not want to go anywhere."
"You look nice though"
Regina turned and raised her eyebrow at the blonde.
"What! You do! I've never seen you look this relaxed before. You don't look as stressed either. Its refreshing." replied Emma.
"Well its nice to see someone cares. Although being the sheriff I suppose its just your duty to care about others" said Regina with sarcasm and a hint of sadness.
"It doesn't have anything to do with that. I care about you Regina because I thought we were friends."
Regina's fist clenched and then relaxed as she looked up at the blonde with a shocked expression on her face. "Really?"
"Yes. You're one of the few people that I've been comfortable talking too in my life and I'm not afraid to share things with you. I mean we already share a son. Plus, I didn't know how many friends you had in this town and thought you would like one" said Emma as her eyes locked with Regina's.
"I'm positive Miss Swan, you do not want me to be a friend of yours."
"Why not?" countered the blonde. "And if you say because of the things you've done I'll scream. I don't care. Sure okay they may come back to haunt us sometime but I don't care, I just want to…"
"You want to what?" said Regina as she crossed her arms again.
Before Emma knew what was happening her lips had met the brunette's and for a second she swore Regina kissed her back. But then a shot of magic hit her chest and she fell off the couch and landed on the floor. She looked up to see Regina standing above her with her hands at her sides, magic crackling at her fingertips.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE" yelled Regina as she threw Emma farther until the blonde hit the front door.
"Regina, I'm sorry, I shouldn't ha..." The blonde coughed as she was lifted up by the throat and her back pressed against the door.
"If you ever set foot in my house again Miss Swan, or try to talk to me, or approach me ever again, I will destroy you if it is the absolute last thing I do. " said the brunette in an eerily calm but sharp voice. The door opened and Emma was thrown into the street. The last thing she saw before her head hit the pavement was Regina's dark eyes glaring at her and then her vision went black.
I'm terrible at updating and I'm so sorry. My life just has gotten so busy and I completely forgot about this story. The next chapter will be up by next weekend.
