Esme woke up with a startle, as if she had just woken up from a nightmare, and Robin, Henry and Roland all jumped.
"Sissy! Are you okay?" Roland said as he jumped off the bed and onto Esme lap. It took Esme a moment or two to realise where she was and what had happened but she wrapped her arms around her little brother and breathed as his little head rested on her neck.
"Yeah sweetie, i'm fine," Esme said as she stroked his hair in an effort to reassure him she was fine. She looked around trying to find the clock but she couldn't see it from the position she was sitting in, and then she couldn't move because she was too weak to do so, especially with Roland's weight on her lap.
"You were out for a few minutes, that's all," Henry said, putting his hand on her shoulders.
"Really? It felt like way longer," Esme said as she patted his hand and tried to figure out how she had seen at least an hours worth of memories but had only been out for a few minutes.
"What did you see?" Robin said without making eye contact; instead, his main focus was Regina as he gazed at her with both adoration and worry in equal measure.
"I saw her… i saw you both on baby Henry's first anniversary," she began but she had to stop when Robin sat down on the bed; he looked in pain and Esme didn't want to tell him anymore of the story. She found it horrific to watch, so she couldn't imagine Robin finding it any easier to hear.
"H..why don't i remember it? Why is she remembering such terrible things," Robin began to mumble to himself. He remembered one of their first dates and he remembered her holding their precious baby girl but Regina remembered the death of their son, and now his anniversary; why couldn't Robin help her remember the good times
"Robin, people remember different things at different times-" Esme began.
"But she is going through all of these things all on her own and she-"
"She wasn't on her own. Robin you were there with her, okay? Yeah she was in pain, but you were there for her. You never left her side. You saved her," Esme said. She lifted little Roland, set him in the chair and then made her way over to Robin and she took his hand. He was transfixed with Regina, memorising every detail of her face, but Esme's touch brought him out of the spell and back to the room they were in, and as looked at Esme, his perfect little girl who was no longer so little, a small tear rolled down his cheek.
The pain inside of him was palpable, and Esme could almost hear his conflicting heart pump and pump, but she wanted to try and make this whole situation as bearable as possible for the boys, because she understood she couldn't keep booting them out of the room every time something happened. So although she was struggling to contain her emotion, brought on by pure empathy for Robin, she laughed as she wiped away the tear with the hand that wasn't in his.
"You're kind of a cryer," she joked and Esme was pleased that it had the desired affect when Henry and Roland chuckled a little.
"I never used to be," Robin laughed as Esme gave an overly dramatic emphatic eye-roll to Roland which sent him into a fit of giggles.
"Well, well what's going on in here!" Dr Whale said as he entered the room, clearly pleased to see a happier room than what he usually entered. Robin was glad everyone was smiling for a change, but the doctor rarely came in to deliver good news; typically his visits left Robin with more questions than answers.
"Everything okay doctor?" Esme asked. As she did so, Robin noticed that upon seeing the doctor enter the room, Esme not only tightened her grip on his hand but she instinctively looked towards Henry and Robin, and they her; she was more like her mother than she cared to admit and he couldn't help but smile slightly. Esme noticed, and threw him a confused glare but he shook his head and their focus quickly returned to Dr Whale.
"Everything is fine. I actually came here to tell you that you can both go home," he explained to four very confused expressions.
"What?" Robin asked.
"I said you can go home. There is no medical need for either of you to be here any longer," The Doctor explained but his explanation merely served to anger Robin as opposed to placate him.
"No medical need? Regina is unconscious! What is she goes home and something happens! Are we suddenly an inconvenience to you-" Robin fired. He stood up and was about to continue with even more conviction when Esme took his arm.
"What he means is, are you sure they're well enough to come home? I mean, he is right; Regina is unconscious," Esme said, trying to reassure Dr Whale down after Robins little outburst, however there really was no need for the man operated in a near constant state of nonchalant-ness. Although she wasn't exactly surprised at the doctors calm demeanour, she was confused about Robins; she couldn't quite believe he had lost his temper over something that should have been good news, but she would get to that later; right now she needed to make sure Robin kept his cool.
"I'm positive. Look, Regina will wake up in a moment or two and frankly, we can't find any medical reason behind these head pains so we conclude that it is down to the spell Esme explained you were placed under. The mind is a tricky thing, Robin, but your daughter is of more use to you than we can be. Should there be any medical complications we will treat you immediately, but i'm afraid that until then, there is no need for you to stay here," the doctor explained. Robin was now sat at the bottom of Regina's bed, and so doctor Whale walked over to him and patted his shoulder.
"This is good news Robin," the Doctor said and although it wasn't entirely obvious, Esme sensed there was a greater meaning behind the statement, and, considering his reaction, Robin understood what that was. He immediately stood up and shook the doctor's hand.
"Thank you," Robin said, and the two men engaged in a man hug Esme had learned was quite common here in Storybrooke. Once the doctor left, Esme walked to meet Robin, who had walked the doctor out, at the door.
"What the hell was that," Esme whispered but Robin simply put his arm around her, began walking towards Regina's bed and ignored her question. Roland quickly jumped up into Robin's arms and Henry helped Esme sit down in the chair Roland had vacated, before he lay down beside his mom. Esme initially thought the scene in-front of her was quite sad, that was until the arm Henry was lying on slowly began to move and the loose hand that Henry was holding began to close around his. Henry immediately sat up and watched as his mom began to slowly open her eyes, and smiled with utter glee as she quickly came around.
"Eugh," Regina grunted as she held her head. "I am so over these headaches." With that, although they were all exhausted and the timing wasn't exactly appropriate, everyone laughed, even Esme, and for one moment, things were normal for them all. However, when Robin ran over to kiss Regina and Roland ran to jump on Henry's knee, the feeling Esme that consumed Esme yesterday returned; this family was finally getting back together, and she was simply an intruder. She felt ridiculous; she was twenty years old and was feeling 'left out' by the family she knew she hadn't been exactly welcoming of. This thought process continued, as Esme pondered all of her options, and so Esme was relatively relieved when they heard a knock on the door, and she was even more relieved when she saw that it was Granny. The door was already open, but she knocked nevertheless, before entering with a bunch of fresh flowers Esme recognised from the forrest.
"Hey!" Esme said as she jumped out of her chair. The flowers were lovely, but Granny had lifted so many she was struggling to see over their glorious petals and so Esme took them off her and put them in the vase on Regina and Robin's shared bedside table.
"Oh Granny, they're beautiful, aren't they Regina?" Robin said as he made his way over to give Granny a kiss on the cheek.
"Yes they are. Thank you," Regina said with a genuine smile even though she was well aware she wasn't the reason that Granny was here.
"It's no problem. I hear you're both doing well," Granny explained as she remained standing near the door. Esme had come to realise that Regina was not a popular woman in Storybrooke; after everything she had done as The Evil Queen, it would take her a while to rebuild the bridges that she had burned with an awful lot of people, and Granny was one of those people.
"We are, thank you," Robin said as he returned to Regina's side and placed his arm around her.
"Yeah, they're coming home," Esme said. She wasn't quite sure why she said it, it just kind of came out of her mouth before her filter prevented it; she certainly wasn't excited, but she felt like perhaps if she acted like she was, she would somehow make herself. The best part was, Granny somehow knew; she had grown close to the young woman, particularly in recent weeks, and by now she knew some of her quirks and little expressions and she could tell Esme wasn't as excited as she tried to sound.
"Oh really? That's..umm… that's great news. I actually came to steal Esme," Granny said to both Robin and Regina, before directing her words at Esme. "I could use your help cleaning up the cafe-"
"But she's hurt," Regina said matter of factly. Regina knew that Esme was more than capable of cleaning with a mere scratch on her leg but she wanted to talk to her and she couldn't do that if she was cleaning up after Granny. Granny, however, was not impressed by Regina's possessive display.
"I am well aware Regina, i cleaned it for her," Granny said, hoping to remind Regina that she actually cared about Esme.
"I'm fine, really. I don't mind helping out-" Esme said, trying to diffuse the situation between the two strong willed women.
"Did you even hear about last night?" Granny continued, determined to remind Regina that establishing a relationship with her daughter should be her main priority; she forgets that even though she has some memories of Esme as a baby, Esme has none of Regina or Robin.
"Wh- we heard there was a problem in the main street and that Esme got a little hurt but-" Robin began as he looked at Regina for some sort of explanation as to why Granny was being so accusatory, but he didn't get an answer, for she looked just as confused as he did.
"Ha! Problem?!"
"Granny-" Esme interjected as she tried, and failed, to calm the her.
"No!" Granny told Esme, and Esme immediately stopped trying as she was well aware that once Granny had something to say, she wasn't going to stop until it was said; Esme was just concerned what that burning statement was.
"Look, i know you two have been ill and i'm very sorry for that, but this young woman has been raising your two boys and fighting off things that shouldn't be her problem-"
"Granny-" Esme said, trying to grab her arm to stop her but Granny snatched it away and continued.
"Last night she singlehandedly went up against The Dark One, and had it not been for Emma making a reappearance, she would have lost. Now, she has been breaking her heart about you two and all you can do is act like nothing has happened-"
"Granny!" Esme shouted, now angry that anything Esme had told Granny was being used against her; she had told Granny how she felt in confidence and under the assumption that, at the very least, she wouldn't tell Robin and Regina. Esme was surprised at Granny's outburst, for although they had indeed established a friendship, Esme suspected that it was more about berating Regina than defending Esme. But when she looked at Robin and Regina, she remembered exactly why she didn't want them to know - they looked crushed; Robin looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach and Regina's eyes sparkled with a hint of tears. However, Regina was a queen at her core, and her vulnerability was short lived, for after a few seconds of it looking like her world had crushed around her, her steely expression returned and she came on the defensive.
"I'm sorry, I don't remember asking for your input on our daughter," Regina said, as she leaned towards Granny.
"Mom-" Henry said as he held her hand, but it was of no use. The two women would fight to the death to prove they were different, when they were actually rather alike, and their determination to have their say was a quality both women shared; although Esme would never highlight this to either of them.
"Now, if you don't mind old woman, i would appreciate it if you kept your opinions to yourself. You can't even begin to imagine what has happened and perhaps if you worried a little less about my family, you'd be able to find that dog of yours-"
"Oookkaaay!" Esme said as she stepped in between both Regina and Granny before Granny tried to strangle Regina or Regina hurled a fireball at Granny. Henry and Roland looked very uncomfortable, and were so still on the chair Esme thought if they had magic, they would have poofed themselves out of there long ago. Robin had a peculiar expression on his face; he still looked devastated that Esme had confided in Granny about her feelings about them both, but he also looked angry. Esme just wasn't sure who he was angry at. Was it Granny for telling his or Regina for reverting to her nasty ways, if even for a moment.
"Look, it's all fine," Esme said with her arms spread out, one palm faced Granny and another faced Regina.
"I will come and help you clean up the diner now," she told Granny in as calm a voice that she could muster.
"And then i'll come here and we can take you back to your house okay? I will tell you all about last night on the way," she said. The two women didn't apologise, and Esme didn't expect them to, so they simply stopped giving each other death glares and looked away.
"You two stay here and pack their stuff," Esme said as she gave them both a kiss on the head before she walked after Granny who had already stormed out of the hospital room.
The journey to the diner was quite nice, Esme didn't actually have to speak as Granny vented almost the entire journey about what a 'piece of work' Regina was. The funny thing was, although Esme didn't feel particularly close to Regina, she did feel a pang of guilt and a little anger hearing someone else berate her the way Granny was doing. When they arrived, Esme saw that the only thing she really had to do was somehow put that glass back into the windows in the diner and then some of the stores along the street, and she was relieved.
"Oh! You got a lot done today,"
"We had some help. Now you think you can fix them?" Granny said and pointed to the windows.
"Ummm, yeah i think so. There was a spell Regina taught me that fixed broken things. Now, i practiced on ceramics but how different can glass be, really?" Esme asked innocently, completely unaware that the answer to that was very. It took her 6 attempts to get one window fixed.
"Granny! Granny I did it!" Esme shouted to Granny who was in the kitchen. When she emerged, she carried two mugs of hot tea and look at the impressive window that now stood in its frame, without even a crack.
"Excellent. now we have eight more to g-" she started but before she could finish, a gust of wind blew through Storybrooke and the whole window fell through again. Esme stared in utter shock and covered her mouth with both hands and when she looked at Granny, she didn't look much calmer
"Try again, honey. Try again," Granny said with a concoction of empathy and bossiness.