The small town of Storybrooke never did get any visitors. Nobody drove through the town, nobody stopped to visit. Today that was going to change. No one in the town knew, and no one in the town was expecting a certain blonde to return home.
For any normal day, Regina Mills would wake up, get dressed, wake her son up and then cook them both breakfast, before finishing off any paperwork that needed to be filled out. Some things were different today, though. There was no paperwork to be filled out, her son wasn't at home and was visiting his grandparents, snow had settled on the streets of the town for the first time in years, and Regina had slept past her alarm.
Christmas was in Five days, and Henry being out gave Regina a chance to prepare his gifts. She didn't really know what to get him as shopping for a teenage boy was quite hard.
After finally getting out of bed, Regina decided today wasn't the day to be wearing her usual dress and heels, instead digging deep into her wardrobe and pulling out a turtleneck jumper and some black skinny jeans. After all, no one would see her. She didn't have any plans, and was planning on just having some alone time.
When she was dressed, Regina headed downstairs for some breakfast. Regina decided to make pancakes, and not realising, made too many as she forgot about Henry not being there. She chucked to herself, placing the extra pancakes into a container and putting it in the fridge, ready for whenever someone wanted them. Just as she was about to sit down, the phone rang. Regina saw that it was Robin, one of her only friends, other than Emma. She picked up the phone, pressing it to her ear, "Hello?" She said, sitting down.
"Regina? How are you?" Robin's voice was cracking, obviously not having very good reception.
"I'm fine, how are you?" Regina and Robin had been friends for a few months now. They acted like brother and sister. Robin knew pretty much everything about Regina, except for Emma. He didn't know nothing about Regina and Emma.
"I'm good...anyway, I was wondering if you were free this lunchtime and wanted to go for some lunch a Granny's?" Regina had this odd feeling about Robin. She was sure he wanted to be more than friends but Regina pushed off the thought and sighed.
"I'm a bit busy today, how about we arrange something tomorrow?" Regina put on an apologetic voice.
"Sure, goodbye Regina." Robin sounded hurt, but Regina shrugged it off, not wanting to cause any arguments.
"Goodbye, Robin." Regina put the phone down, sighing. Something felt off about today, and it made Regina a little anxious. Robin had never asked to go to granny's with her and she never really wanted too, either.
Regina finally began eating, putting all her worry behind her. After all, it was Christmas, and Christmas was a time to be happy.
Emma Swan woke with excitement. Today was the day she would finally get to see everyone back in Storybrooke. Everyone at the camp base was excited, people rushing around and packing their bags.
"So, are you looking forward to today, Swan?" Leah asked, shoving the piles of letters back into her bag. Emma was almost done packing, placing the last of her items in her rucksack. Everyone was due to leave in an hour, and this made Emma's nerves grow. What if everyone gets mad because she didn't tell them she was coming back? What if everyone had already made plans? "Swan!" Emma shook her head, not realising she was daydreaming.
"Sorry, and yeah, I guess." Emma smiled, zipping up her bag. She had not brought much stuff with her to begin with as she didn't need it. Emma was dressed in her combat uniform, her hair in a tight ponytail. She loved her uniform, and she was proud to wear it.
"Please tell Regina, I mean if you're ready. It's obvious you love her." Emma looked up at Leah, grinning.
"Yeah, I do. I just need to think about how I'm going to tell her. She'll probably be the first person I visit...none of them know I'm coming." Emma laughed. She had lied to Regina, telling her that she didn't know when she was coming home.
"Good. I'm sure it will all go fine." Leah smiled, also zipping up her bag.
- (Time lapse) -
The hour passed, and before she knew it, Emma was back in her yellow bug. "I missed you." Emma tapped on the steering wheel, turning the keys. It had been six months without her luxuries and she had missed them so so much.
Driving in the snow was quite difficult, but by 2 pm, Emma was almost at Storybrooke. Light snow had started to fall from the sky, making the suburbs look somewhat like a scene from a movie. Many cars passed by, some covered in a light dusting of snow, some looked like they hadn't been touched by snow at all.
Emma finally reached Storybrooke and a wave of anxiety flew over her. Some people were in the streets, building snowmen or putting out Christmas decorations. Five days till Christmas. Emma realised that this was a perfect time to come home.
First stop, Regina's house. Questions raced through her mind. What if Regina wasn't happy to see her? What if Regina wasn't even home?
Emma drove up to Mifflin Street, parking her bug a few houses down from Regina's. She was nervous as hell. Why did she feel like this? "Because you love her." Her mind answered for her. She stayed in her car for a few minutes, thinking about what she was going to say. She had to take it slowly. What if Henry was home? She was going to have to have a chat about this with him. "Suck it up, Swan." She took a deep breath in before stepping out of the car. The winter chill nipped at her skin, Emma wrapping her jacket closer around her.
Walking up Regina's driveway was more difficult than ever. She took one more deep breath before replacing the worry with happiness. She was home, that was every reason to be happy. Emma knocked on the door three times before waiting for someone to answer.
The door finally opened, Emma was the first to speak. "Well, Madame Mayor, a simple hello would be nice." Emma laughed, looking and the shock on Regina's face. The mayor didn't speak, instead she started to cry.
"Emma." Regina finally spoke, still standing in the doorway. "You're back." Emma nodded, smiling.
"Yep, and if you don't mind, can I come in? It's freezing out here." Regina nodded, opening the door for Emma to come in. Regina wiped away her tears but few still fell, slowly down her face.
"Is Henry here?" Regina shook her head, Emma and her both walking into the kitchen.
"No, he's at your parents' house. I just can't believe it...you're home." Emma smiled. Home.
"Yeah, I get the whole of Christmas off, which is great. Regina, I wanted to say thank you." Emma decided now was the best time to tell her everything.
"For what? Oh, would you like a drink?" Emma nodded, taking a seat next to the kitchen counter.
"Yes, please...and for everything. Over these last six months, I didn't know what I was going to do without my parents, without my son and without you. You made me so happy with the letters, and I can't thank you enough." Emma couldn't stop smiling. Being home had never felt so good.
"Well, it was strange not seeing you around and it took the whole town a while to get used to it." Regina had made Emma hot coco with cinnamon. "Here, I made your favourite." Regina was still in shock. She hadn't expected Emma to turn up just like that.
"Thank you." Emma didn't know what to say. "Is it the mayor's day off today? It's unlike you to not be wearing something professional?" Emma couldn't have said something more awkward, heat rising to her cheeks.
"Well sheriff, I planned to have a day to myself, but I'm glad that you actually turned up. A day to myself is normally cleaning, baking and more cleaning." Regina chuckled, a large smile was still present on her face. Emma had never seen her smile so much.
The two chatted for a little while longer, finishing their drinks. Emma had told Regina about everything from Leah to some of the things she had to do on a daily basis. "Well, I guess I should go and see Henry." Emma stood up, putting her cup into the sink.
"Oh, okay...well I guess I'll see you soon?" Regina questioned, looking hurt. Emma felt sad, but soon smiled again at Regina.
"Come with me...I'm pretty sure my parents aren't going to react as calm as you did...especially my mother, and you are Henry's mother. I don't know how he'll react."
"Yes, our son is a bit unpredictable." Regina laughed, getting her coat. "We can take my car." Emma nodded, heading for the door. "Oh, and Miss Swan?" Emma looked around at Regina. "Welcome back." Emma smiled.
The two got into the car, driving to Mary Margaret's house. The drive was silent, both not knowing what to say.
As they reached the building, Emma became nervous again. Regina seemed to sense her nerves, placing her hand on Emma's shoulders. "It's going to be fine, Emma. Calm down." She just hoped her parents reacted like Regina did.
The two entered the building. "Stay here, I've got a plan." Regina walked up to the door, Emma out of sight. She knocked a few times, waiting for an answer.
"Mom!" It was Henry who opened the door. Mary Margaret and David were cooking something in the kitchen. "What are you doing here?" Regina smiled before she answered.
"I've got a surprise for you - well all of you." Mary Margaret and David looked up, Emma walking out from her spot.
"Hi!" Emma said. Silence. The sound of tableware dropping against wood sounded, Henry just standing there.
"Emma? Emma!" Mary Margaret rushed to the door, embracing her daughter in a hug as she started to cry.
"Mom." Emma, too, was crying. The wave of emotions had just made Emma realise that her family loved her so much. And even if they had chosen to send her away to protect her, everything was for the best.
"Mom, you're home." Henry stood there, totally in shock. Emma finally managed to get out of her mother's embrace, still standing outside the apartment.
"Yeah, kid. I am." Emma looked at Regina, who was also looking at her. She didn't know why, but Regina had made this situation a lot easier for her.
"Come in, I'm just making some lunch...are you both hungry?" Emma nodded, walking into the room. She wasn't expecting it, but Henry walked over to her and gave her a tight hug.
"I missed you, mom." Henry finally let her go, Emma rustling his hair.
"I missed you, too. Now, tell me about this girlfriend of yours." Henry's cheeks turned red in embarrassment. Regina hid a laugh, while Mary Margaret and David looked at him suspiciously.
"Yeah, Henry. Tell us about this girlfriend of yours." David looked at him, laughing.
"Her name is Violet. She's in my class, and she likes horse riding. Okay?" Henry sat on the sofa, hiding his embarrassment.
"Okay, kid. I can't wait to meet her." Emma smiled, joining Henry on the sofa.
Everyone had joined in the conversation, Emma telling her parents about everything that had happened. "It's good to have you back." David hugged his daughter as they sat watching TV. Emma smiled, hugging her father.
It was good to be back.