Chapter Seven

When Mary Margaret showed up after school on Monday to pick up Emma and drop of Henry, she and Regina decided that the best course of action for the time being was for Emma to stay with Regina every day while her parents were at work. They decided that Mary Margaret would drop of Emma and pick up Henry each morning, and then pick up Emma and drop Henry off every afternoon.

While Regina was concerned that it meant Henry would get no time with Emma, she did have to agree that it was the best solution available at the time being to allow Emma to spend time with her, without Regina overstepping her place too much. As much as she hated to admit it, Little Emma was Mary Margaret's daughter, not hers.

It would also give Regina some free time in the early evenings to catch up on work at her office, while Henry did his homework. It was easy for her to take time off when there was no magical beast or villain threatening Storybrooke. A small town with no ties to the outside world did not actually need a mayor in her office five days a week, and her staff was more than equipped to handle the day to day tasks without her supervision.

It went off without a hitch on Tuesday: Emma arrived with her hair still in the waterfall braid, though it was falling out a little, and her plastic tiara in place. Emma and Regina got to spend the day together, playing and reading stories. Regina took her to Granny's for lunch, and then for ice cream after that. She let her run off her excess energy in the backyard until Mary Margaret showed up for the child-exchange. When Regina returned home from her office Tuesday evening, she and Henry got to spend some much needed one-on-one time together.

While Regina did enjoy this arrangement, there was still a part of her that worried about Little Emma every second she was away from her. Over a dozen times on Tuesday evening, she had the urge to call over to the Charmings and make sure everything was okay. She had a hard time sleeping Tuesday night, wondering if Emma was having a nightmare, and worrying that she might be crying for her.

On Wednesday morning, Emma leapt into Regina's arms the second she crossed the doorway. She still had the tiara, though her blonde hair was pulled back into two matching braided pigtails. Her hair smelled slightly of citrus and mint, and Regina realized Emma must have had a bath and a hair wash the night before. Mary Margaret had a big smile on her face, so Regina assumed everything must have gone well, though she felt an odd mix of relief and jealousy. As much as she truly wanted Emma to have good nights with her parents, a part of her feared that if things were going well, her little princess might start to need her less.

Regina took Emma down to the docks that morning and let her feed the ducks and geese. She wasn't sure if Emma would keep any of these memories when she changed back, but Regina wanted to make sure to give her as many good memories as she could, just in case.

Wednesday afternoon was more playing. Regina was amazed at how carefree Emma seemed now; a stark contrast to the scared little girl she had met not even a week ago. Regina felt a little twinge of sadness when it occurred to her that the fairies were still working diligently to come up with a reversal spell. It was taking some time, since no one had really seen a spell like this before, but she suddenly realized that she wasn't sure if she wanted to let this little girl grow up at all. Still, she knew she really had no choice. Henry needed his other mother, and it wasn't fair to Emma, but a big part of her knew she was going to miss this.

As the afternoon went on, Regina could tell Emma was getting tired, so she put on a movie and they snuggled up together on the couch. Emma was fast asleep by the time Mary Margaret and Henry showed up. Regina left Emma sleeping on the couch as she got up to meet them at the door. Henry gave Regina a quick hug and then headed up to his room with his backpack.

Regina turned to Mary Margaret, who was still grinning like an idiot, just like she was in the morning.

"Where's Emma?" Mary Margaret asked.

"She fell asleep on the couch," Regina replied. "I think I wore her out."

"That's okay. Do you have a minute, before I take her home? I have something to tell you!"

Regina nodded, and Mary Margaret followed her into the kitchen. Mary Margaret just stood there, smiling, until Regina just had to know what her news was. "Ok, what is it?" she asked.

"David and I are having another baby!" Mary Margaret exclaimed.

"What?"

"I'm five weeks along. We got confirmation from Dr. Whale today, but Henry, and now you, are the only ones I've told," Mary Margaret beamed. "We're waiting until I'm three months to tell anyone else, but, you know, you're family."

Regina wasn't quite sure how to react to this information. As well as she had been getting along with Mary Margaret lately, Emma was still the only Charming spawn Regina had any interest in. She also couldn't help but feel a tiny pang of envy every time another woman announced her pregnancy to her.

"Well, congratulations, then," she forced herself to say. "You're not going to tell Emma, are you?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" Mary Margaret asked, confused.

"Because you don't know how she will react to this. She could get jealous, and it could hinder the progress you've made with her so far. I think it would be better to wait until she's back to normal," Regina cautioned.

"No offense, Regina, but you don't know how she will react to this either. She might be thrilled. What little girl wouldn't love to know she's going to have a brand new brother or sister?"

Regina was about to respond when she heard a tiny voice calling to her from the living room.

"Where did you go?" Emma asked, as Regina returned to the living room. "I woke up and you were gone."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I was in the kitchen with your Mommy."

Mary Margaret walked over to Emma and scooped her up. "Ready to go home?"

Emma nodded, reluctantly, and looked back at Regina. Regina knew she didn't want to leave, but the fact that she let Mary Margaret pick her up at all showed definite progress.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Princess," Regina smiled at her, as she walked them to the door. "And Snow, think about what I said."

"Snow?" Emma asked, scrunching up her nose. Inwardly, Regina cringed, realizing her mistake.

"It's just a nickname," Mary Margaret said, brushing it off with a small laugh.

"Like Snow White?" Emma asked.

"Like snowflake, because she's just so special," Regina said, with a wink. Emma giggled.

Regina noticed Mary Margaret's smile, and remembered that she had no idea that Maleficent had given her that nickname behind her back in the Enchanted Forest. Regina hoped she thought it was just a good quick save, but knowing Mary Margaret, Regina knew she would likely take it as some sort of confirmation that Regina secretly liked her more than she liked to admit.

When Regina returned to the living room, Henry was there, setting up his video game.

"Homework?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

"Done," he replied, with a smile. "Hey, do you think I could come with you to your office tonight?"

"Why?"

Henry shrugged. "I don't know, to keep you company?"

Regina smiled. "I would love that, but I don't think I'm going to go in tonight. We can just spend time together here."

"You think she's going to freak out," Henry commented.

"What?"

"Emma. When they tell her about the baby. You think she's going to freak out, and you know they're gonna call you for help when she does. That's why you want to stay here."

Regina nodded. "What do you think?"

"I think she's gonna freak out. She told me once that the first family she had gave her back when they had a kid of their own. That was a long time ago, but to Emma now, that was only two years ago. I told Grandma that, but she thinks this will be different. She thinks that telling her they are having another baby, and still wanting to keep her anyway, will help heal those old wounds... like make her realize that not everyone will just replace her with a new kid, or something. Logically, it makes sense. But Emma's five, she doesn't do logic."

"How did you get so wise?" Regina asked. Henry just laughed.

After dinner, Henry went back to his video game, and Regina curled up on the end of the couch, reading a book. It had been several hours, and Regina was surprised she hadn't heard from the Charmings yet. Perhaps Mary Margaret was right, and Emma actually took the news well.

"Hey, Mom, look," Henry said, nodded towards the window. Regina turned look out, and saw the Charming's truck at the end of the driveway.

"Oh, I forgot! I turned my phone on silent when Emma was sleeping!" Regina said, grabbing it from the end table beside her. Three missed calls from Mary Margaret.

Regina got up and opened the door, and waited in the doorway as she watched Mary Margaret let Emma out of the car. She noted that David and Neal weren't with her and wondered what was going on. Emma took off like a rocket in Regina's direction, and Regina scooped her up as soon as she reached her.

Emma's cheeks and eyes were red and puffy, and it was quite evident she had been crying. She squeezed her arms tightly around Regina's neck, as Regina stepped outside to meet Mary Margaret, who was now heading up the walkway with Emma's backpack in hand. Regina hugged Emma tight to her as Mary Margaret approached.

"Don't say it," Mary Margaret said, as she held out Emma's bag to Regina.

"What?" Regina asked, taking the bag, still having no idea what was going on.

"You were right. We shouldn't have told her. I tried to call you."

"I know, I'm sorry. I turned my ringer off when Emma was asleep," Regina replied. Mary Margaret looked like she was about to burst into tears. "What happened?"

"She freaked. We couldn't calm her down. We tried everything we could think of and nothing worked. She screamed and cried until she literally made herself physically sick. I asked her if she wanted me to call you, and of course she did; which, of course, David objected to. When you didn't answer, she screamed more, which in turn got Neal screaming. David took him out for a walk in the stroller, and when I still couldn't get a hold of you, I figured you didn't have your phone or something, so I decided to bring her to you. You're the only one who can comfort her."

Emma grip on Regina's neck loosened, and she could hear her rhythmic breathing, and she knew the child had fallen asleep in her arms, her head resting on her shoulder. Regina watched a couple tears start to fall from Mary Margaret's eyes, and to her surprise, her heart actually hurt for her. "Snow," Regina said softly, trying to think of something to say to comfort her.

"Don't," Mary Margaret shook her head. "It's ok. I know it's not your fault, and it's not her fault. I just want her to be happy."

"It's not your fault either," Regina reminded her.

Mary Margaret gave her a sad smile. "I know. I just wish... well, it doesn't matter. Can you take her tonight? I know she's not your responsibility, but we'll never be able to get her to sleep, and I don't want her to make herself sick again."

"Yes, of course. Does David know?"

Mary Margaret nodded. "I called him before I left the loft. He's not happy about it, but we have no other option here. I'll still come pick up Henry tomorrow for school. Maybe she won't hate me in the morning."

"She doesn't hate you. She just has no idea how to express her feelings. Things will be better in the morning," Regina assured her.

Mary Margaret nodded, and headed back to the truck. Regina stood and watched her leave, thinking of how long she spent trying to escape being her mother. Who would have believed that one day she'd willingly be playing Mommy to Snow White's daughter.

When Mary Margaret had pulled away, Regina carried Emma back into the house. She took her up the stairs and changed her into her pajamas, careful not to wake her, before tucking her into bed with her white blanket. Regina didn't even bother to attempt putting her in the guest bed tonight, and just put her right in her own bed. She made sure to put her little plastic tiara safely on the nightstand beside her. She turned on the light in the hall, and left the door open, just in case Emma woke up, before heading back down to talk to Henry.

"Looks like we were right," Henry commented as Regina came back into the living room. "She freaked."

"Can you pause that for a minute?" Regina asked, as she sat down on the couch. She curled one leg under herself so she could sit facing Henry.

"Yeah, sure," Henry said, pausing the game and turning to her. "What's wrong?"

"Henry, I really don't want to worry you or upset you, but I think Emma needs to stay with me until the fairies can figure out a way to change her back. Your grandparents… their hearts are in the right place, and I know they are trying, but Emma is so fragile, and it's not fair to her to let them keep parenting her through trial and error. Emma did more than 'freak' tonight, and your grandparents just aren't equipped to handle it."

Henry nodded slowly, but didn't respond.

"As much as you know it pains me to admit it, it's really not their fault. Snow had a privileged life growing up, there's no denying that. She had two parents who loved and cherished her… obviously, I mean before I came along. And David, he might not have grown up rich by any means, but he had a mother who loved him. Emma hasn't had any of those things, and they can't truly understand what she's going through right now, which is why they are making so many mistakes with her."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Henry asked.

"Because, if this gets ugly, I want you to know where I'm coming from in all of this. I'm hoping it won't, and I really think your grandmother knows that everything I'm doing, I am doing it for Emma. But your grandfather, you know he still sees me as the enemy."

"Mom, you should know, I'll always be on your side," Henry smiled.

"That's sweet, Henry, but I don't want you to pick a side. That's not what this is about, that's what I'm trying to get at. It's not about me versus them… it's about Emma, and what will benefit her the most."

"I know, I understand. And Mom, I'm glad she has you," Henry said.

"I'm so proud of you, Henry," Regina smiled.

"Why?"

"Because of how well you're handling all of this. It just reminds me of how much you've grown, into such a mature young man."

"Mom!" Henry scoffed, turning to restart his video game. Regina could tell she was embarrassing him a little, but she couldn't help but notice the small smile on his lips.

Moments later, she heard the distinct sound of crying, and she got up to check on Emma. Emma was waiting for her on the stairs, blanket in hand, thumb in her mouth. She was nearly the spitting image of how she had looked the first night she stayed over.

"I had a bad dream," Emma whimpered, as Regina headed up the stairs. "Can you come lay with me?"

"Of course, baby girl," Regina said, picking her up and hugging her close. She no longer cared what David would say about Emma needing to learn to self-soothe, or not giving in to her every whim. The only thing that concerned her at this point, was doing whatever it took to comfort Emma and make her feel safe.

She put Emma back into bed and crawled in next to her. Emma snuggled up close and Regina sang to her, Emma chiming in on the "dilly dillies" in a soft, sleepy voice, as her eyes slowly closed. Regina continued stroking Emma's hair gently, long after the song was done and she thought Emma was asleep.

"Regina?" Emma whispered, surprising Regina.

"Yes, baby?"

"Will you never leave me?" Emma asked, her eyes still closed.

"Never."

"Promise?"

"Promise."