I don't own these characters; ABC/Disney does.
7: Walkabout
Regina opened the door and Lady hopped out. She was more confident with being outside while she was on a leash as they had already done this twice yesterday. She did glance back to make sure that Regina was right behind her. Regina smiled down at the puppy before locking the house up. While she did not make it a point to lock the door while she was inside, she did not want anyone to be brave while she was out.
She knew that her neighbors practically stalked her thanks to what happened yesterday with her walks with Lady. She did not want to deal with anyone either ruining her home, especially the few bits of Henry that she had left in his room, or have someone lying in wait for her. Honestly, she was not sure if she would fight the person off just yet.
Lady held her head up high as they began walking in the chilly morn. They barely made it down the walkway before Lady barked and tugged on her leash. Regina glanced up and saw why.
"Good morning, Sheriff," Regina said to Emma, who was leaning against her patrol car. On the outside, the car appeared clean, but Regina wondered if the inside was a mess.
"Morning. So, no Cerberus or some other Hell hound today?" Emma remarked as Lady yapped at her and charged over to her; Regina had to give her more slack on the leash.
The sheriff leaned down and rubbed the top and side of her head, earning happy whimpers from Lady. Emma laughed and Lady nipped at her fingers a bit before pulling back. While Emma was down on her level, Lady took a moment to nuzzle Emma's new scarf, which was not helping the sheriff's light pink cheeks. Regina smiled at the scene. It was nice that Lady liked Emma, that Lady recognized the kindness that Emma had done both of them.
"I could transform Lady, but I don't think she'd appreciate having two extra heads," Regina retorted as the blonde climbed back up to her proper height.
Emma glanced down at Lady, assessing her. "Probably not."
"How long have you been out here?"
"I only just got here. Based on the phone calls from yesterday, I figured you planned to walk her everyday at six in the morning. I wish you had coffee, though."
Regina could not help glancing at the cup in Emma's hand. "Says the woman with coffee in her hand."
"It's almost done! I might pass out during the walk."
Regina shook her head. "And what does this have to do with me, Miss Swan?" The question was monotone, but she could not stop the small smile that played on her face.
The former queen began her walk and was not surprised when Emma fell into step with her. Lady looked up at Emma and seemed to smile. Her tail wagged and she practically strutted. Regina supposed that it was good that Lady was somewhat socializing since her breed was friendly.
"I just figured since you're feeding me now, you might wanna fuel me, too," Emma commented with a shrug.
Shaking her head, Regina regarded the blonde with a sidelong glance. "No, it doesn't sound like something I would want to do. Are you planning to walk with me the whole time?"
"I figured this would be easier than fielding calls for a day about you walking a damned dog," Emma replied with another shrug and she gave Lady an appraising look. "Not even a real dog. Lady is like the light version of a dog."
Regina rolled her eyes. "She's only a puppy." Well, actually Lady was getting closer to being a dog with each passing day, but to Regina, she would always be a puppy.
"Yeah, a spaniel puppy. I mean, if you were walking a pitbull or something, it would at least make more sense. Lady isn't even the size of a basketball," Emma remarked, putting her hands into her coat pockets. The size was an exaggeration, but the truth was that her walking Lady should not bother anyone.
Regina had to hold in a smile. "I think I'll let Henry walk with me in the afternoon, so he can see the route and understand just how long this can be. It will give Lady a chance to get used to him if he's ever going to get a chance to walk her by himself."
Emma smiled. "He'll like that. You'll like it, too."
Regina did not argue that. She would like to spend time with Henry. She wanted him back in her life. She wanted him to be her son again in more than name and she wanted him to truly look at her as his mother. She hoped the sheriff was right in believing he wanted the same things and just needed time to sort his mind out.
They were silent for a while as they came to the end of the street, where Regina noticed all of the stares just like yesterday morning and last night. They cut onto a trail that would go into the woods. She knew it was not the best place to walk Lady, but she preferred that than getting into a confrontation. She had no desire to fight with anyone. At least there was a trial and she did not have to worry about walking on completely uneven ground.
"So, what made you pick this route? Aside from the scenic view?" Emma asked sarcastically as she ducked a particular pointy branch. They were well off the beaten path. "How the hell did people even see you outside here, especially last night?" She moved another tree branch out of her way.
"Shouldn't you be investigating that?" Regina remarked.
"What makes you think I'm not? I'm undercover." Emma grinned.
Regina loved and hated that she laughed at that. This woman had done something to her and she was not sure when or even what. She thought Lady had pulled her from the darkness, but she was starting to change her opinion. Maybe it was the moment when she handed Lady to me in her own scarf, proving that she had truly spent a week looking for her. She did not just write me off or write Lady off. She did me a kindness. She looked out for me. Regina honestly had not expected that of the woman who had walked away with her son, of the woman who was the progeny of her enemies, of the woman whose life she had helped make difficult.
"Seriously, what is with this path? It's going to be hell here when the trees have leaves," Emma complained, moving another tree branch. "You can't have Henry walking through here in the crazy town with a dog that can barely qualify as an ankle-biter. What if a bear attacked them or something?"
Regina gave her a side-glance. "I do not believe there are any bears in these woods, so it is not something I considered."
"Well, there could be. It's woods, after all, and there is a town of fairytale stuff wandering around. Who's to say there aren't magic bears in the woods or something now?" Emma pointed out.
"What are you trying to say, sheriff?"
"Can we at least walk on a damn sidewalk? Henry's going to get lost down here," Emma grumbled. "I don't think Lady likes it either." The dog was walking behind them, but that was the way it should be for the time being as she looked them as the pack leaders. The troubling thing was that Lady was sticking very close to their feet. It was a sign that she might not be very happy with the forest path.
The sheriff started walking off before Regina could respond. Lady trotted off, remaining behind Emma and Regina followed Lady until the dog was behind her again. Lady remained close to her feet as she followed Emma.
They came out of a path on the woods and were back on the streets of Storybrooke. Stares came almost immediately. Regina resisted the urge to vanish, to get away from the glaring accusations and silent threats. She got enough of that from the walls at home and in her dreams. She was finally starting to understand, but she was not ready to deal with it yet. She held her head up high and did her best to pretend they were still walking through the woods or that she still thought these people were merely peasants rather than victims of her own insanity.
"I guess this cements Storybrooke's small town status look because I'm pretty sure everyone is gossiping about this," Emma said as she nodded toward a house where they could see a woman in the window, trying to hide behind her curtains, watching them as they strolled by.
"Better than them calling the police, correct?" Regina commented.
"Hell, for all I know, they're still calling the station anyway. They did all night yesterday and I had to come in to listen to messages about it. Hell, some people called me personally. It was a good excuse to leave the house and all, but it's annoying that they're calling about it. The station is probably getting flooded with calls as we speak. David should be there. They'll be warning him that you have me under your spell and Lady Cerberus is eating people while spitting fire at passing cars."
The former queen frowned. "Then he'll drive by soon." The last person she wanted to see was that pretender to the throne and his ridiculous self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude. She doubted that there was a human being on the planet more annoying than the shepherd.
"Probably, but what's he going to do? Arrest you for dog walking?" Emma chuckled.
Regina could see that attempt being made, but he would not succeed. Of course, just her resisting would probably start trouble that she no longer had the energy to deal with. She imagined the townsfolk up in arms if she merely argued with their precious shepherd. She was not sure if she would do more than vanish with Lady if he tried anything because she did not feel like being involved in anything. No sooner had she had that thought did David pull up in his patrol car, having the nerve to flash the lights and give them a bit of siren.
"Emma, what's going on?" David called from the car.
"Nothing. Just walking a dog," Emma replied, reaching for Regina's hand. She held up the hand with the leash to show it was connected to a dog.
Regina could only stare wide-eyed at Emma's entirely too comfortable actions. But, she did not pull away. She knew why Emma did it; David needed to see that nothing wrong was going on, so that he would not further harass her. Even though they were both wearing gloves because of the cold, the contact was incredibly warm and flowed through Regina like light from the rising sun.
"You're walking a dog with Regina. What's going on? Is Henry all right?" David demanded as he stopped the car and got out. His holster was visible through his open coat. Well, I suppose that's fine since he's far too stupid to catch a cold.
A scowl settled on Regina's face as he stomped over. He loomed over her, glaring at her. She resisted the urge to disappear, not wanting to be pushed around completely. She was certain that backing down entirely would only bring more trouble to her because it would give him and the rest of the town enough bravado to bother her more often. She returned the glare just as hard while Emma stepped up.
"Everything's fine. We're walking a dog, nothing more," the sheriff stated, motioning to the dog. Lady was behind them, peeking out behind Regina's legs and growling at David.
"It's never nothing when it comes to Regina," he replied, frowning at the former queen.
"What exactly am I doing beyond walking the dog?" Regina inquired in a daring tone. He only stared at her and as soon as he opened his mouth she rolled her eyes. "Please, don't hurt yourself trying to think. I can already smell that walnut you call a brain burning." It felt good to insult him, even if she could not muster up the desire to do anything more. She hoped that would be enough to keep him away from her.
"Regina," Emma pleaded.
Regina's nostrils flared. "Why me? What about this idiot?" She motioned to David.
"I'll handle it," Emma insisted and then she turned to her deputy. "Nothing is going on. We're just walking her dog. Right after, we're going back to her house. Nothing evil or nefarious."
"Careful, nefarious might have too many letters for him," Regina muttered, earning a glare from Emma.
"I got this," Emma said through gritted teeth. "David, seriously, this is exactly what it looks like. We're walking a dog and Regina has not – I repeat NOT – put me under a spell. We got flooded with calls yesterday about her doing this exact same thing, so I'm here to escort her and show everyone it's safe. Nothing to see here."
"Are you sure? How do I know you're not being controlled by her?" David demanded.
"Controlling her to do what? Pick up after Lady?" Regina scoffed and earned another glare from Emma. She raised her hands in surrender. "All right, handle it." She motioned to the shepherd.
"Thank you," the sheriff huffed. "Look, we're just going to go back to walking the dog. It's nothing more than that. See you at home, David."
Emma led Regina and Lady away before the deputy could answer. Emma glanced back, checking to see if David was following. Regina did not bother to look back, guessing that David had a dopey incredulous and probably confused expression. She hoped that minor confrontation did not lead to more. She did not have the energy to even think about that.
"How is life in the Charming household?" Regina asked, surprising herself by not sounding mocking. She wondered if she was feeling concerned, especially since that seemed less like a father/daughter moment between Emma and David and more like Emma the sheriff trying to control David, who seemed to be wearing his "daddy" cap with his deputy star. Emma had been or was still concerned for her, so she seemed to be returning the favor. It's an odd sensation, but I suppose it's fine. It was not like she could shut it off and she lacked the energy to repress it.
Emma shrugged. "It's weird. I dunno. I mostly try to not think about who I'm sharing the apartment with beyond Mary Margaret and David."
That seemed odd and Regina pursed her lips briefly. "Don't you think you should try to deal with it before you do your version of curling up on the sofa?"
The blonde was silent for several long moments. "I don't know how. I mean, what do you do to deal with something like having loving, bordering-on-overbearing parents for the first time in twenty-eight years who are your age, fairy tale characters, and royalty? I don't even want to get into the stuff that follows those issues. Not to mention my own issues."
"I imagine talking to them might help," Regina replied and Emma gave her a sidelong look. She offered a dainty shrug. "They won't know how you feel and you can't move forward if you pretend everything is fine. Your father is too thick to pick up on it and Snow White will pretend right along with you. If you start to drift, Snow White will try harder and it will be a sad sight. She does want you, you know?" Part of her rebelled at these words, knowing it would help her arch-nemesis, but it would help the sheriff and that seemed to trump everything.
"I know, but some things are hard to shake off after twenty-eight years of being passed along like a new doll or being made to feel like there was wrong with me."
"It's a feeling that I can understand, but again, if you don't talk about it, no one will know. Eventually, you will get to the point where running seems like a viable option and I think you will care about the destruction you leave behind." After all, Emma was a "good person," who cared about people.
Emma sighed and scrunched up her face a bit. "I'll think about it. Now, let's move this walk to Granny's so I can have some more coffee!"
Regina resisted the urge to laugh, but silently agreed. She hoped Emma worked out her issues, which was a surprise to her. She thought that she had given up on hope a long time ago. Apparently, that was coming back and spreading beyond having hope in her son. Now, she had hope for Emma and somehow by extension felt hope for herself.
-8-8-8-8-
Regina was surprised to hear the doorbell a little after noon. She was getting Lady ready for another walk and the pup rushed the door. She guessed that it was Emma from the way that Lady was scratching at the door. It remained unlocked and Emma certainly had no quims with walking in. Lady barked happily as the sheriff entered, but then backed up as Henry came in after her.
"What are you two doing here?" Regina asked, unable to keep the surprise from her voice.
"We came to walk Lady with you. Emma said it was okay," Henry explained, glancing at the sheriff for confirmation. Emma nodded.
"Shouldn't you be in school right now?" Regina asked Henry and then she turned her attention to Emma. "And you have work."
"Uh … it's Saturday," Henry pointed out.
Regina blinked because she had no idea what day it was. Honestly, she was not sure what month it was. While she had gotten back into a strict regiment as far as eating and bathing went, much of anything else escaped her. She was starting to think that she was going to need more than just going through the motions of a normal life in order to truly get on track.
"So, is it okay if we all walk Lady?" Henry inquired with his face slightly scrunched up.
He looks so much like the sheriff when she's confused, Regina thought and found it did not bother her as it would have in the past. Actually, it was almost endearing. Almost.
"Well, yes, of course it is," Regina answered because it was.
"Good. So, attach the leash and let's get moving," Emma proclaimed.
Regina did not see any reason to object to that and put the leash on Lady's collar. The group set off with Lady trying to figure out whom she wanted to walk with. She had no problem walking behind Regina and Emma, but Henry was ahead of both of them and she did not want him to lead, so she trotted ahead of him. But, whenever a car came by or someone was nearby, she ran behind Regina.
"Why is Gramps following us?" Henry asked, glancing behind them. David's cruiser was a couple of yards behind them, creeping along the route they were taking.
Emma waved it off. "Ignore him."
"But, why is he following us?"
Regina almost told Henry that David was following them for the same reason he released Lady, but she managed to hold it in. She was definitely starting to see the downside of not caring if she was about to make her son feel terrible. She took a deep breath to settle herself.
"He just wants to make sure everything is fine," Regina assured the boy.
Henry took that in and then nodded. He probably figured out himself why David was following them since he had the same opinion not too long ago. Regina was not sure if that would mean anything, but she would not be the one to bring it up. They continued walking and eventually David went away.
"Do you always walk her this long?" Henry eventually asked.
"I've come to learn that Lady needs a lot of exercise. It explains why she would rip and run through out the house and backyard before I began walking her," Regina explained.
"We should've brought a Frisbee or something. Does she even have a Frisbee?" Emma inquired.
"No, she does not," Regina answered.
Emma did not look shocked by that. "A ball? Something to fetch?"
"She has a plush toy that she enjoys retrieving. Sometimes, she bats around her duck and chases it," the former queen replied. She wondered if she had missed some important thing in all of the puppy care sites that she had scrolled through.
Emma nodded. "Next time, we should bring that and we can throw it around, so she can get some real exercise."
Lady approved that with a yap. Regina nodded, understanding that it would just give Lady an activity to do outside beyond simple walking. They strolled for a while longer than Regina usually walked the puppy, enjoying the company. Lady sniffed at things, gaining more and more familiarity. By the time they returned to the mansion, Regina decided to start on dinner.
"Will you both be staying?" Regina asked.
"I want to play with Lady for a while. I want her to get comfortable with me," Henry said, as if that was an answer.
"I guess we'll stay for a while, then," Emma replied with a smile.
Regina nodded. "Lady has a few toys by the coffee table."
Henry nodded. Regina gave Emma a pleading look and the blonde nodded, showing that she understood to watch them. Regina disappeared in the kitchen to make dinner for three people. Oddly, it made her heart beat a little faster, as if in anticipation.
-8-8-8-8-
Watching Henry try to play with Lady was just about the most heartbreaking thing Emma ever saw involving her son. He had Lady's favorite toy, the rubber ducky, and was squeaking it like mad. Lady remained about a foot away from him, sizing him, hunches down, and ready to attack. Well, probably ready to attack if he was not so much bigger than she was.
"Henry, throw me the duck," Emma suggested.
Big brown eyes looked up. "What? Why?"
"Just throw me the duck."
Sighing, he did as he was told and tossed the duck to her. Lady followed and charged right over to her, pawing at her feet for the toy. She threw it back to Henry. Lady turned as the duck landed in Henry's hands. She watched him again, seeming to think about it, but at least she did not look ready to attack. Emma motioned for him to throw the duck back to her, which he did. Lady was back on her, jumping for the duck and scratching at her leg.
"Oh, it's over there now," Emma taunted the puppy, chucking the toy back to Henry.
Lady got just a little closer to Henry that time. They kept the behavior up before Lady understood that it was all right to at least get close to Henry, but she did not touch him as she did with Emma. Emma was sure it would take a few more visits for Lady to like Henry; the pup seemed to remember that he was the one that had left the front door open and began her week long journey of being cold, alone, and stuck in a hole.
Emma and Henry left after a quiet dinner with Regina. They mostly talked about the walk and what they could do on future walks. Emma would have liked to have a more serious conversation with Regina, but that was impossible to do with Henry around. She would save it for when they were alone.
The pair barely had a foot in the door before Mary Margaret was in their faces. "Where have you two been?" she demanded in a tone that let them know that she knew exactly where they had been.
"God, small towns suck," Emma muttered. But, of course, her husband could've spilled the beans. Is he even her husband here? Stop thinking about it, Swan. You'll hurt yourself in more ways than one.
"Hasn't Regina hurt us all enough? Why are you giving her another chance?" Mary Margaret begged, big brown eyes close to tearing.
Emma felt like an ass from the look alone. And I didn't even do anything! She hated to think how she would feel when she did do something wrong and received that look. And that bothered her. She was a grown ass woman. She did not answer to anyone, not even her roommate! Of course, her roommate was also her mother. Her mother that sent her away. Her mother that sent her away to save her. Her mother that sent her away to save her, but instead condemned her to a life of being unwanted, shuffled around, and used by damn near every person she had ever met. She groaned. Too much thinking! Stop thinking!
"It's hard to explain and you probably don't want to know anyway," Emma replied, hoping that would be enough.
"She's going to hurt you, if only to hurt me or steal Henry," Mary Margaret insisted.
"She won't," Emma countered and then she turned her attention to Henry. "Go put your stuff away." She did not want him around if they were going to argue over Regina. He groaned loudly, but stomped off to do as ordered. Now, she focused on Mary Margaret completely.
"You know how dangerous Regina is," the short-haired woman pointed out.
Emma shook her head. "She's different now. She's burnt out. You don't even want to know the headspace that she was in not too long ago. Hell, you don't know her headspace now. She's actually healing, but you don't know that because like everyone else you're happy for her to just die in her house."
Mary Margaret blinked. "Die?" she echoed as if she did not understand.
"Look, Regina was in a bad place and we're helping get her to a better place. She's actually been nice to me and I think if we keep it up, she'll be okay, which is good for everyone. Right?" She figured if nothing else, Mary Margaret should be able to appreciate that. It was not as if she really wanted Regina died … or so Emma hoped anyway. She could not take any more curve balls from this woman who was supposed to be pure as snow.
"But, it's dangerous and how did you get her to be nice to you?"
"I kept a promise to her and brought her back the one thing that she had left."
Mary Margaret's forehead wrinkled. "What do you mean?"
Emma sighed because she really did not want to discuss Regina with Mary Margaret, much like she did not discuss Mary Margaret with Regina beyond that little piece of advice from this morning. Remembering that, she decided to switch topics. She would rather try to deal with her issues than have a never-ending debate about Regina. Besides, Regina was right, she was going to have to do something before she ended up simply running, which her feet had been itching to do for a while. Run to somewhere that made sense and the laws of physics still held true. Not that she knew much about physics.
"Look, never mind about Regina. We need to talk about something more important," Emma stated.
Mary Margaret appeared even more confused. "More important?" her voice trembled and she looked frightened. She obviously knew they had a long talk in the making and it could very well end badly.
Emma guessed that she had not been doing a great job of pretending everything was fine. Mary Margaret looked like she was going to fall apart before Emma even said a word. David seemed to come out of nowhere to pull Mary Margaret into a hug, as if to protect her. He looked like the world was about to collapse in on them. Well, at least I know they love me or they wouldn't look so terrified, so that should make this easier. I mean, they're less likely to send me away then … right? She was surprised a voice in her head did not respond, "How the fuck should I know?"
"It's not something bad," Emma tried to assure them. It was hard to believe when her own stomach twisted itself in knots. Calm down. We need to talk about this. They're not going to send me away and I need to start accepting them for who they are. After all, I want parents, but I also need them to accept me for what I am. I'm not a little kid.
"Are you leaving?" Mary Margaret asked, voice cracking.
"What? No! My kid's here and you're here!" Emma pointed out. Of course, if she left things to fester as she was doing, there would come a time when those things were not enough. So, to avoid things coming to that point and ruining four lives, it was time to deal. Well, start dealing.
"Then, what do you want to talk about?" David asked in a guarded tone that showed he expected the worse.
"Everything, but let's start small. I need you both to treat me like an adult and respect my opinion on things. I'm not some little kid for you to humor or insist you know better than. Believe it or not, I've made it for a long time on my own and I've developed fairly decent instincts, especially in things from this world," Emma stated.
"Emma, if this about Regina –" Mary Margaret tried to say, but Emma held up a hand and stopped her.
"It's not just about Regina. It's in general. Maybe I don't know what's going on in the Enchanted Forest, but I do know about planet Earth and the United States, which is where we are. Plus, like I said, I'm not a little kid. I'm a grown woman," Emma declared and focused on David. "And your boss, so if I say everything is fine, then everything is fine. You beating it over the head is frustrating and you following me is insulting. I'm not some damsel in distress."
David opened his mouth, probably to object, but Mary Margaret gave him a look. He closed his mouth again and nodded. Mary Margaret sighed and nodded, even though she appeared ready to burst into tears.
"I know this is hard on all of us, but we need to talk about rather than pretend everything is fine," Emma pointed out. "Everything is crazy and we need to sit down and make sense of it. So, can we do that or at least start that?"
"You're right," Mary Margaret agreed.
Emma breathed a sigh of relief and her stomach settled. They had not sent her away for speaking her mind and saying something against them. She felt safe enough that she might be able to say more. They made their way to the couch and they all sat down. For a long moment, they were all silent.
"I think we should talk about our expectations of each other," Emma said and she could hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth, but it needed to be done. Her parents nodded. "Like I said, I expect you guys to treat me like an adult, but I don't want us to walk on egg shells around each other. I don't want you to think the next time I say 'we have to talk' means the bug is packed up and I'm driving to California. I want us to be a family. Maybe not a family out of a Norman Rockwell painting, but whatever family we manage to put together as ourselves."
"I just don't want you to leave. I don't want to be without you again," Mary Margaret sniffled.
"I know, which is why we need to have this talk," Emma insisted.
"Well, I expect you to understand that I missed you growing up and I know you had some hard times that I couldn't protect you from. I'm your father. I'm supposed to protect you," David stated.
"I know you are, but I can protect myself just fine. Could you at least wait for me to ask for help or see that I'm seriously in need of saving instead of looming over me and trying to stare people down?" Emma suggested.
David glanced away as Mary Margaret stared at him. "You loomed over her?"
"I was more 'looming' over Regina," he argued. "Emma, you really don't understand how dangerous she is."
"No, I know. Between the book and what Mary Margaret told me, I know enough. I also know she hit rock bottom after that day in the woods when Henry walked away from her. She lost everything at that moment and she was ready to waste away and die. She's turned a corner. You need to trust me on this and stop bringing things back to Regina. Our situation is beyond Regina," Emma said.
"She's the reason we were separated in the first place!" David roared and was about to stand up, but Mary Margaret patted his hand. Somehow, that simple gesture kept David in his seat and calmed him down.
"Emma, I told you we were trying to give your best shot," Mary Margaret reminded her.
"I know, I know. Believe me, on one level, I can totally understand that. You wanted to save me from what you thought was going to be some terrible curse and you didn't know what might happen. Turns out, you got sent to Maine, not so horrible, especially considering indoor plumbing," Emma joked.
"Yes, but it's not home," Mary Margaret pointed out.
"No, I kinda get it. I've never had a home until now, but I can understand it. Still, you have to understand that there is a part of me that's going to hurt for a long time, knowing that you could have kept me and I didn't have to go through everything I went through. Part of me is going to come up every now and then think you put me in that wardrobe because you needed someone to save you. That's a big thing to put on a kid," Emma said.
Mary Margaret took a deep breath. "Maybe on some level, those parts of you are right. Your safety was a huge factor, but maybe we also wanted you to break the curse."
"Maybe we took our hero hats and put them on you," David added. "Is it so wrong to what your child to be a hero?"
Emma glanced up at the stairs. "I think I would rather my kid just be my kid."
David nodded and looked down. Clearly, he wanted a legacy and Emma had been that. Or at least he wanted Emma to be that. She would never call herself a hero, though. It was like she told Regina, she was just a good person. She did what good people do … or she tried anyway.
"Yeah, but we weren't wrong," David said with a half-smile.
Emma laughed, but it was a hollow sound. "Oh, yeah, you were. I've only just walked into this good person role recently in life. My little stint in jail left me worse for wear, like a lot of people. That was college for me, you know? Jail was my higher education."
"But … you were born with a good heart …" Mary Margaret whispered, as if it was a wish because it certainly was not a fact.
"Maybe I was, but a tough life can do things to a person. I'm doing my best to be good now. I don't want you guys to feel bad or feel sorry for me. We're together now and that's good. I want us to stay together," Emma said, reaching out for them.
She took their hands and they gave a squeeze. Tears came from the corners of Mary Margaret's eyes while David pulled them into a group hug. Henry decided to charge down at that moment and joined in the group hug. Emma suspected that he was eavesdropping, but she decided to not call him on it.
"I want us to stay together," Emma repeated with a sniffle of her own, giving them all a squeeze.
-8-8-8-8-
Regina was resting in bed, Lady sleeping beside her. The pup was on her usual pillow and wrapped in Emma's scarf. The sheriff had not asked for it back and Regina hoped that she never did. Lady refused to sleep without the scarf. She scratched Lady's ear with one hand while the other hand held a card.
"Acting as if everything is normal will not be enough. I can feel that, but can I do this again? Can I open up only to be made to bleed for doing so?" she wondered aloud. "She told me that Henry wants to believe in me and I have to meet Henry halfway. I cannot do that alone. I have no idea how to begin sorting through everything. I have to do this or I might end up snapping at him, as I have almost done."
She sighed because she knew what she had to do. She could not go on not caring. Just as she told Emma that she had to deal with her issues, she had to deal with her own. There was only one way to do that. She reached for her phone. She had to try.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Regina and Emma go grocery shopping and encounter surprising problems.