Thanks for hanging in there! I think we're definitely past the halfway point on this one. Mapped out the next few chapters, so I'll be getting those done here soon. Next chapter will bring a little more EC action.

Holiday Spirit

Chapter 20

The school was chaos. There was a haggard looking teacher attempting to direct the parents on where to take their children if they were in the performance. David and Henry took Ellie, Oliver and Benjamin to find seats while Regina took Isabella backstage. Just inside the doorway, another teacher apparently in charge of the production stood with a clipboard and asked Isabella for her name and the part she was playing. When she heard the name Mills, she looked up from the clipboard, catching sight of Regina for the first time. "Your Majesty – I mean...Madam Mayor," she stammered, looking nervous and taking a small step back.

"No one calls mommy your majesty anymore, Ms. Angelo," Isabella said, watching her teacher's reaction with a strange expression. "And you're friends."

Ms. Angelo made a small strangled noise and then looked at Isabella. "Wow." She did a double-take, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Shifting uncomfortably on her feet at her teacher's odd behavior and being studied, Isabella looked up at Regina. "You can go sit with Daddy. I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

Regina peeked in the door to see a bunch of kids running around, giggling and only half of them were wearing a costume of any kind. "You have everything you need?"

Nodding again, she smiled tiredly. "Yes, mommy."

"Okay." She leaned forward and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Daddy and I will be watching. You have someone come find us if you need anything, okay? Or if you start to not feel well again."

"I will."

"Alright. Have fun, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you, too."

By the time Regina reached the auditorium, most of the other parents had found seats. She was in the process of looking for her own family when Ellie's voice suddenly rung out. "Mommy! Mommy!"

Her attention, along with everyone sitting around them, went straight to where her youngest daughter was standing up in her chair, dressed up in her princess outfit.

Regina saw David lift her and set her back on the floor as he whispered something in her ear.

"Mommy!" She whispered loudly, and everyone around them chuckled until Ellie went running right up to her. Word had gone around town that the Evil Queen and David had children together, but few had actually seen it.

Ignoring them as best she could, Regina swung Ellie up onto her hip.

"Pretty," Ellie cooed, playing with her mother's necklace. "We both princesses?" she asked.

"You are, my darling." She pressed a kiss to her daughter's cheek, making her giggle, and walked them past the people who were staring to take her seat next to David.

"Is she still feeling okay?" David asked worriedly.

"For the sixth time today," Regina told him, rolling her eyes and smiling slightly at him, "she's fine, David. Her fever's gone and she ate full meals yesterday. She's going to be fine."

"Daddy, look!" Oliver popped up from the floor, holding something in his hand. He held it out to David and David cringed and flung it away when a neon piece of chewed gum was dropped in his hand.

"Why don't you sit up here for a while, buddy? No more picking things off the floor." He hauled Oliver up into his lap as Henry laughed beside them.

"That's gross."

"Nuh-uh," Oliver argued.

"It was in someone's mouth before you touched it."

Oliver made a face and wiggled in David's lap, as if trying to shake off the germs. "Yucky!" he screeched, and it made Ben screech from his carrier.

As the start of the play drew closer, the last of the stragglers joined the audience. Regina tried to ignore the people who remained standing at the back, even though there were seats open next to her, reminding herself that she really didn't want to sit next to anyone, anyway.

Ellie waved at the people sitting behind them over her mother's shoulder, and unable to resist her cute grin, they waved back.

"Seems the whole town has children at this thing," Granny said, suddenly appearing next to Regina. She groaned as she lowered herself down into the chair, shifting in discomfort. "I don't think I've even seen this many people at some of the town meetings."

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked, looking around to see people whispering to one another and gesturing vaguely in their direction. She'd already been feeling self-conscious.

"What do you mean what am I doing here?" She let out a soft snort. "I told you I'd be coming."

"Yes, I meant..." she cleared out her throat. "I meant why are you sitting next to me?"

"Should I not be? Were you saving these seats for someone else?"

"No, I just—"

"Didn't want me sitting next to you?"

"No, I—"

"Good. Then I'm sitting here."

Regina felt flustered and was almost positive she was blushing. Clearing her throat and pushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she faced forward again, deciding that instead of floundering for words, she'd simply try to move past the awkward moment.

"Oh mind your own business!" Granny scolded the remaining gawkers, waving her hand at all of them. Completely unperturbed, she turned back to Regina. "How's Isabella doing?"

"Much better. The fever hasn't returned and she has a little more energy every day."

"That's good. You've all been eating properly?"

"Yes," Regina told her defensively. "I can cook, you know. I cooked for Henry for eleven years."

"I know," Granny responded calmly. "But I also know that the first thing people forget when things go bonkers is to eat."

"Well you can rest assured they've been well-fed."

"Not just them I'm worried about," Granny told her, side-eyeing her.

"Why the sudden concern?"

Granny shrugged. "You've got our David under that roof of yours, too. And aside from that, children need their mother. If you're not taking care of yourself, how can you take care of them?"

Regina was grateful when the teacher she'd seen earlier backstage stepped out from behind the curtains and up to the microphone, letting them all know the show would be starting in a few short minutes.

The performance went better than many had been expecting. There were still the inevitable moments where the young children forgot their lines or where they were supposed to be standing, but they must have been well-rehearsed because all in all, they managed to keep it flowing.

Regina and David grinned when Izzy appeared on stage. She'd had the lead role, was adorable in her costume, and performed extremely well. At the end of the play when she came out to bow, the two of them stood, clapping enthusiastically and David whistled.

Once they'd all moved into the hall, children ran out from backstage in their costumes to meet parents, and Regina caught Isabella in a tight hug.

"Did you like it, mommy? Was I good?"

"I loved it! You were wonderful, sweetheart!"

Isabella stepped out of her mother's arms to go to her father. "Do you really think so?" she asked, a tinge of insecurity leaking through.

"You did such a good job, princess!" David told her lifting her in the air and swinging her around. "We're so proud of you!"

"Thanks, daddy!"

A few of the other parents came up to her to congratulate her, and she blushed embarrassedly, thanking them shyly and hiding her face in her father's neck as he held her up on his hip. They'd disappear back into the crowds, not even bothering to hide their stares – Isabella looked exactly like her mother.

"Good job, girlie!" Granny said, coming up behind David and Izzy and patting her on the back.

Isabella lifted her head at the familiar voice and smiled brightly at the elderly woman. "Thank you."

"It's obvious you've inherited your love of drama from your mother," she said, eyes sparkling.

David made a choking sound as he swallowed down the laugh that had bubbled up, and Regina rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes. Very funny," she told them, a hint of her own growing smile. It felt nice to joke about things for a change instead of having hatred and accusations thrown her way.

"What does she mean, mommy?" Isabella asked, looking at her mother in wonder. "Were you in plays, too?"

Regina threw a playful glare at the other two adults before turning her attention back to her daughter. "Sort of."

"Hey, Izzy!" Henry called. "Great job!" He set Ben's carrier down and the twins came to a stop next to him, Ellie spinning in her dress and Oliver just spinning to make himself dizzy.

"What would you say to some ice cream to celebrate?" Granny asked. "On the house, of course."

Isabella clapped her hands and looked between her parents. "Can we?"

"I think it's a great idea," Regina agreed. They all started for the door, but Regina hung back, reaching out to Granny to get her to stand back as well. "You don't have to," she told her. "I know that helping us has brought some unwanted attention. I appreciate everything you've done for us, but I'd understand if you wanted to create a little distance."

"Nonsense!" Granny scolded. "I'm quite used to a little cold shoulder – the others can get over it. I'd say of all the crazy this town's been given, you and David took the brunt of it. You needed an extra hand, and anyone in their right mind would love these kids if they gave them even the smallest chance – despite their rather unusual parentage. And I'll deny it to my grave if you ever tell anyone this, girl, but I've grown rather fond of you as well."

Regina was shocked into silence. She blinked at the older woman, so caught off-guard, she was completely at a loss for words.

"Come on now, don't straggle," Granny told her, moving forward again. "Don't want to keep your family waiting."