CHAPTER 17

Emma couldn't believe that it was true. She'd turned from a big city metropolitan woman into a small town girl.

She wasn't crazy. She knew that this was the work of a certain brunette. She was known for going against the grain and doing wild and outrageous things but relocating to be near the woman who'd adopted he son topped even her most insane stunt. That included helping to steal the bug and ending up in prison. But that was a story for another time.

Life now though was better than anything she could've ever predicted for herself. If you'd asked anyone who knew her before she'd met Regina they'd all pretty much have the same story to tell. Emma wasn't a settling down kind of girl. But Regina had definitely domesticated the former nomad.

And worse. She'd managed to become whipped with her eyes wide open. She couldn't explain it. There was just this buzz that she got from being around Regina. Regina of course did her best to ignore her presence any opportunity she got. But Emma actually preferred when she did. That meant she could torture her ceaselessly until she managed to coerce a Miss Swan! out of her which would leave Emma in cackles. Seeing the normally OCD uptight woman flustered was endlessly entertaining to her.

Emma lived for those moments. Because Regina's face would redden and her breathing would become heavy. It didn't take much to imagine that happening in a bedroom with the two of them locked away.

And try as she might but Emma knew that Regina couldn't resist her charms forever. And her having a band of trusted allies didn't hurt the situation none.

Luka, Graham, and Zelena had all obviously bestowed their blessing upon the union. Zelena was constantly trying to find ways to help Emma ambush Regina. And Luka kept the invites coming so that Emma didn't feel she was intruding. Slowly but surely she was becoming ingratiated into the family and the daily goings on of a small town. And she was loving it.

The only sore spot was Henry. Emma tried reaching out to him in small ways. She'd try striking up a conversation with him by asking him about homework, sports, or hobbies. But Henry had a one track mind and every single one of their conversations would somehow segue back to his damned storybook.

This disturbed Emma for a number of reasons. She had no idea if her being around was actually helping or hurting the kid. He'd start going off on a weird tangent like pointing out that his teacher was actually her Mother and she couldn't help looking at him with pity and concern.

When she'd try bringing up the situation with Regina she'd get angry and swear there was nothing wrong. Henry was a perfectly normal little boy who was having a hard time right now. When she got like that Emma knew to keep quiet and back off.

Aside from that, everything was coming along great. The job was simple and easy. It mostly consisted of her and Graham finding games to play that didn't cost the taxpayers money or else arguing over whose turn it was to round up Dr. Hopper's Dalmatian, Pongo.

The people were generally friendly though they were also quite nosy. She did feel as if her every move in public was put under a microscope. But becoming friends with Ruby had helped break the ice with the other residents. With Ruby being the town gossip the information line went both ways. She both received and was routinely pumped for new information on everyone else in town.

As far as she was concerned, she only had a few problems. The first was fully committing to whether or not she was staying. And that one was easy. One look at Regina and she found it hard to imagine herself anywhere else. It was getting harder and harder to leave her house after dinner every night. She'd recently begun a campaign, aided by Zelena and Luka of course, of lingering over talks once the kids were tucked into bed. Before she knew it, she and Regina would've idled away hours talking about not much of anything and sometimes everything at the same time.

Emma enjoyed those times. Those were the times when Regina's Mayor façade would slip and her face would light up as she talked about a memory either from childhood or with her kids. Emma had always had the feeling that the two of them were kindred spirits. But the things Regina didn't talk about were just as telling as the ones she did.

Specific details were off limits. She'd of course let things occasionally slip. But Emma could tell from the darkening of her eyes that her Mother was a sore subject. And the quickening of her breath and shudder that wasn't missed when Emma asked if she'd ever been married before gave her all the confirmation she needed.

Emma told her about her time in foster care. Without going into details she'd let her know that it wasn't the greatest experience. Regina had gotten quiet and stared at the fire in the fireplace for a long time before asking Emma to leave that night. Emma had been confused and wondered if this was going to be the end of their together time. But the next day Regina texted her asking her to pick up milk on the way to dinner and Emma had gone off to do her bidding with a grin.

The next problem as Emma saw it was where to live. She needed to find something permanent. As Regina told her once, without roots one couldn't survive. If you couldn't be trusted to settle down then you couldn't be trusted at all. So here Emma sat at the counter at Granny's with the local paper going through housing ads.

"Anything interesting?" Ruby asked as she placed a bear claw in front of her before filling up her coffee.

"Maybe," Emma said absently before setting the paper aside. "There's a few prospects I can check out while I do my rounds."

"Miss Swan! Not on the taxpayer's dollar you won't!" Ruby shrieked in a terrible impersonation of Regina.

Emma's hand flew to her mouth as she tried to not splash the sip of coffee she'd just taken all over the counter. Ruby chuckled as she handed her some napkins. She managed to control her sputtering long enough to swallow what was in her mouth. She coughed a few times and wiped the coffee that had made its way through her nose away. "Don't do that to me without warning me first," she admonished Ruby though it was still hard for her to control her own chuckles.

By this time, Emma's crush on Regina was no secret to anyone. Hell, even Regina knew how she felt about her. And lately she'd even been allowing small touches, more alone time, and even the occasional hug from Emma.

Emma figured she'd wasted enough time that morning and even though Graham had no rules or regulations whatsoever she figured she should earn her salary. So she went to the office and put in a few hours with Graham before taking her turn out on patrol.

Emma had made a couple of phone calls and set up some appointment times to check out apartments while Graham was taking his turn on patrol. When it came her turn, she headed out and began to cross off the few rental places she'd come across.

The first had been way too small. It was a studio that was smaller than her current room in the inn. She had never considered herself picky before but the inn was starting to make her feel claustrophobic. She turned that one down as soon as the door was opened. The second was huge and way too much money for a place she didn't think she'd be spending that much time in. She could hear echoes pinging off the walls and she knew it would just drive her crazy. But the third turned out to be just right.

It had 2 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms and came partially furnished. It would be fine until she could get her things from her place in Boston. She thought it would work out great. She'd had way too many sleepovers with Luka than she'd cared to admit to at this point. And she liked the idea of having an extra room just in case. She filled out the application, left the required deposits, and was pleasantly surprised when the landlord called her back less than an hour later to tell her she could move in that day.

Graham let her off early so that she could pick up her key. She quickly finished with the niceties and in less than 15 minutes she had the key to her new apartment in her hand. Emma did a quick run to the inn to box up her meager possessions, an in and out run to the diner to drop off her room key, a drive by the store to stock up on staples, and had managed to get herself situated before she was expected for dinner.

As she was leaving her apartment, she bumped into her new neighbor from across the hall. It would happen to be none other than the woman Henry insisted was Snow White and her Mother.

"Oh, hello," the mousey woman she recognized as Henry's teacher said to her. "Did you just move in?" she asked curiously.

Emma tried not to take the nosiness in a bad way. She'd lived in places for years and never even knew the people who lived around her. The people here, she understood, had a different way of living. She smiled at her, "Yes ma'am." She held her hand out, "I'm Emma by the way. The new deputy."

"Oh, I know," the woman gushed as she shook it back warmly. "Henry talks about you practically nonstop. I'm Mary Margaret Blanchard. It's nice to meet you finally."

"Nice to meet you too," Emma inclined her head to her.

"Is it just you in the apartment or -?" Mary Margaret's eyebrow rose in question.

"Yeah. It's just me. I do occasionally have sleepovers so if it gets loud or anything just lemme know."

Mary Margaret waved her away, "I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm really glad you're here. We should get together sometime."

Emma nodded, "that sounds great. Maybe once I'm settled in and all - ," she answered uneasily as she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. She knew that for some reason Regina didn't like the woman. Though she seemed a little nosy Emma had no idea what that was about. But she didn't want to rock the progress she'd been having with her lately in the personal department.

"Great," Mary Margaret said way too enthusiastically. Emma figured she wasn't the kind of woman who got out much or had many friends. "How about tomorrow?"

Emma was still smiling and nodding awkwardly trying to figure out how to make her exit. She was already running a little behind for dinner and she knew Regina wouldn't appreciate it at all. "Huh?"

"Dinner. Tomorrow at my place," Mary Margaret gestured to her door. "You already have the address," she chuckled. She turned and finished unlocking her door. She went inside and just before she closed it she turned to Emma once more, "It's a date!" she giggled before closing the door.

Emma stood staring at the closed door with her mouth agape. She shook herself before turning and making her way to her car to head to Regina's. "Crap," she muttered under her breath as she went. Now she was stuck having to explain to Regina why she was having dinner with a woman she knew she hated.

When she arrived at Regina's Luka let her in with her customary squeal and hug when she saw Emma. Emma rubbed her back vigorously as she returned the embrace before she ruffled her hair. "Hey kid," she greeted her happily.

Graham handed her a glass of red wine as she walked into the living room with Luka underneath her arm. He held up his glass to her, "here's to the newest resident of Storybrooke. I knew we couldn't get rid of you," he clinked their glasses together.

Zelena raised her glass of white wine in Emma's direction. "I'll drink to that," she said as she winked at her.

Emma blushed, "it's nothing," she waved her hand dismissively. She looked around for the other family members, "where's everyone else?"

Before anyone could answer Regina came from the kitchen with an apron on. She was wiping her hand on a dishcloth when she looked toward Emma, "Emma, you're here. How lovely for you to show up," she said while pointedly looking at the clock.

"Give me a break Regina," Emma growled. "I just moved into my new place minutes ago," she smiled at her proudly. "Now you can come and visit me whenever you want. My place is always open and ready," she gave her a suggestive wink.

Regina rolled her eyes as she pointedly ignored Emma's flirting. She looked to Luka, "please tell your brother it's time to eat."

Luka huffed but moved toward the stairs to follow her Mother's instructions. She started to pick up speed before Regina's predictable, "No running," had her waving a hand dismissively at her Mother while continuing.

Regina turned to Emma and pinned her with a glare.

Emma looked around her curiously before returning her look, "What?"

"I do believe your bad manners are rubbing off onto my children Miss Swan."

Emma grinned and shrugged, "You're welcome." She took a sip of her wine.

Regina silently turned and made her way back into the kitchen. Graham, Zelena, and Emma made their way into what had become their places at the dining room table as Regina began bringing in the serving trays.

It wasn't until after Luka and Henry had joined them and everyone had filled their plates before Emma was able to tell them about the apartment. She ran a hand along Luka's back, "there's an extra room for when you come and stay with me Little One."

Zelena had just finished swallowing a sip of wine when she remembered, "Hmm… since you're just moving in, there're plenty of things in our garage and Regina's you're welcome to."

Regina was just putting a forkful of food in her mouth when her sister made her offer. She sputtered slightly before she moved her napkin to her mouth and swallowed, "Yeah. I'm sure there's some stuff in there that you're welcome to help yourself to."

Emma nodded and shrugged, "sounds great."

"We can go through it after brunch tomorrow. Graham will of course help with the big stuff."

Graham's head swiveled toward his wife, "I will?"

Zelena merely rolled her eyes in response.

"That'll be great guys. At least for the next week anyway. Then I'll have to get home for my own stuff."

Henry dropped his fork onto his plate. Everyone's heads turned toward him when it clattered against the china, "but you're coming back right?" he asked with an expression that bordered on panic.

"Of course I am," Emma chuckled. "I have a job, a new apartment, and now you guys," she looked pointedly at Regina who continued to bury her head and pretend she had no idea.

Henry frowned as he followed her gaze but still nodded. As everyone went back to eating and continuing with small talk Henry's mind was going a mile a minute.

He had thought that once Emma got to town the curse would break shortly thereafter. But after consulting his book he realized that the heroes never believed at first.

He didn't like the fact that Emma seemed to make googly-eyes at his Mom all the time. He'd caught them downstairs together talking quietly to themselves at night. Who knew what the Evil Queen was filling her head with. She must've found a way to put a spell on Emma. That would explain her reluctance to hear the truth from him.

As the adults around him continuing speaking, Henry began to hatch a new plan. A mission if you will. Emma needed to have her eyes opened so that she could see the truth for herself. She may be the Savior who saved him and all of these people from the shackles of the Evil Queen's curse. But he knew it was up to him to be her hero.