Italics are Mandy's thoughts. I also thought Mandy needed a break from Regina so she's spending a little time with someone else.

Chapter 31: Hanging Out With Emma

Mandy needed some space from Regina. She snuck out of the house early that morning so she didn't have to deal with her or Henry. She texted Emma the night before and asked if she could meet her by the docks the next morning. Emma wanted to talk to her too so she agreed to meet her. Mandy was already sitting on a bench when Emma came up and sat by her side.

"Hey kid." Emma said handing her a cup. Mandy looked confused. "I didn't think you liked coffee so I brought you some hot chocolate. It's a bit chilly this morning and I need to wake up."

"Thanks, Emma. I appreciate it." Mandy said smiling.

"So…where do you want to begin?" She asked taking a sip of her coffee. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be having this conversation but she wanted to help Mandy.

"Well I wanted to know how you handled the abuse when you were younger." Mandy replied not making eye contact with Emma. She knew this was a difficult conversation to have, with anyone. "I understand if you don't want to tell me."

"No, I'll tell you just don't go around repeating it to anyone." Emma replied.

Mandy shook her head. "I would never. I hope you would do the same for me."

Emma nodded. "…I was moved around to different foster homes but only some were bad so the abuse wasn't constant. I'm guessing yours was more frequent?"

"Yea, pretty much."

Emma patted her knee to get her to look up at her. "Well I try not to think about it. I try to remember the good times I had with a few foster families rather than the bad ones."

"But what happens when something makes you remember those horrible times?"

Emma contemplated her question for a moment before answering. "I let the memory run its course. I'm in a bad mood for a little while but it eventually passes. It helps to think about the life I have now, the family I'm a part of.

Mandy shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that's a good idea. I mean if it works and all."

"Listen Mandy." Emma said getting the young girl's attention. "I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. We have endured a shitty childhood and I'm sure there will be shitty times ahead, but we can get through it."

"How?" Mandy asked doubtfully.

"Well you can always talk to me but there are plenty of people who would help you if you'd ask. It doesn't help to keep things all bottled up, if something is bothering you, you need to address the situation."

"Is that what you do?" She asked wondering if Emma actually practiced what she preached.

Emma knew she was being a hypocrite if she told her she did. "I try my best, but it doesn't always work out."

"I see." She said putting her head down.

"I didn't say it was going to be easy, Mandy. It's tough getting over something like that, it still is for me. I don't think it's something we will ever get over but we can damn well try."

For some reason this made Mandy smile. It meant that she didn't have to go through this alone; she had Emma on her side. "That actually helps."

Emma sighed with relief. "Thank god! I thought I was just rambling, not making any sense at all."

Mandy laughed. "No, you're more help then you realize." She said before taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

Emma smiled. She was happy she helped Mandy, even if it was just a little bit. "So what happened last night? I heard you and Cora got into some trouble."

Mandy looked up at her in surprise. "How did you find that out?!"

"Henry called me before he went to bed. You and Regina went at it, huh?" Emma asked already knowing the answer.

"He heard our fight?"

"He wasn't eavesdropping if that's what you're thinking. He said you two were screaming at each other."

"Yea, it really got heated. That was one of the first arguments that I had with her." She said staring out into the bay.

Emma tapped her on her shoulder. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

She turned to face her. "Henry didn't tell you?" She asked surprised.

"He mentioned a few things but we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

She looked back out into the bay and took a moment before answering. "He said I was jealous of his relationship with Regina."

"Well are you?"

She turned back to Emma. "Yes, but I wasn't going to admit it to him."

Emma laughed. "Fair enough."

"Regina raised Henry from when he was a baby. He got to do everything with her." She complained.

"It should've been you." Emma finished her thought.

She nodded. "Yea, I mean aren't you jealous? Regina got to fill your spot. You should've watched Henry grow up. You don't feel anything against her?"

"I'm a little jealous but it was my choice to give up Henry. I wasn't fit to be a mother back then but I know what you mean. They share something together that we never will with them."

"I'm not mad at Henry, I'm just mad he got to be with Regina and not me. I wouldn't have had the shitty childhood I had if I was with Regina." Mandy argued.

Emma sighed. She knew how Mandy felt, at least from a mother's perspective. "You can't keep thinking about the 'what ifs', that's what's hurting you the most. You need to focus on the 'what is' and focus on the present."

"It's a little hard when I see Regina and Henry together and thinking that could've been me."

"I get it, I do. I think about what it would be like if Snow and Charming got to raise me, what my life would've been like but it just puts me in a dark place. We wouldn't be the people we are today if it weren't for the things that happened to us in the past."

"Maybe it would be a good thing to not be the people we are today." Mandy replied.

Emma nodded. "That may be, but we can't change it."

Mandy looked down to her hands in her lap. "I know."

"We have more in common then I realized." Emma said staring off into the distance.

"Like what?" Mandy asked looking up at her.

"We were both abandoned as a baby, grew up with abusive foster parents, are jealous of Regina and Henry, somehow we are family related, it's hard for us to open up to people, our parents wanted us but couldn't keep us, hate wearing dresses and we both have some sort of magical connection."

Mandy's jaw dropped. "Wow that is a lot."

"It's all I can think of for right now, but it's a good amount."

"That's the one thing we both share that no one can take away-our magical connection." She said smiling up at Emma.

"At least we have one good thing in common." Emma said smiling back.

"Thank you, Emma. For everything." She said grasping Emma's hand and squeezing it tight. They both felt a sudden rush of magic flow through them and a bright like emanated from their hands. They instantly pulled away from one another, scared of what had just happened.

"What the hell was that?" Emma shrieked.

"I think we just made magic, although it was unintentional." It was the only logical explanation she could come up with.

"Did we do anything?" She asked looking around making sure everything was the same.

"I don't think so. It felt comforting more than menacing." Mandy answered. "Did you get hurt?"

Emma looked at her hands. "No, I don't think so. Do you know what's going on?"

Mandy shook her head. "I don't really know much about the connection we have, but I know someone who does…" Her voice trailing off.

"Gold." Emma said knowing who she was talking about. Mandy nodded in confirmation. "He's gonna want something though."

"Well there's no harm in asking. We can see what he wants. If it's not reasonable, then we don't agree to make the deal." Mandy suggested.

Emma agreed. "Seems reasonable enough."

"We can go after my session, if you're free."

"Yea, I'm off today."

"Oh cool, wanna go get something to eat at Granny's then? I didn't eat yet and I'm starving." Mandy said covering her growling stomach with her hand.

Emma stood. "Sounds good to me. I'm always up for a good meal." They began walking back to Emma's car.

"If we keep eating, we'll never fit into our dresses for the ball." Mandy joked.

A smirk came across Emma's face. "Maybe that's a good thing."

Emma drove them back to the diner. They sat at a booth as Granny handed them two menus. Ruby came up to them a few minutes later and took their order.

"I'll have French toast please, with a glass of orange juice." Emma said.

"Umm, I'll have apple pancakes with a side of milk please." Mandy said closing her menu and handing it to Ruby.

"You would order something with apples in it." Emma said smiling.

Mandy shrugged. "I like apples."

"Yea, so does your mother." Emma said with a smirk.

"Is that it?" Ruby asked.

"Actually Ruby, I wanted to apologize for what Cora and I did to you last night. It was a bad joke at your expense. I'm so sorry." Mandy said genuinely.

"I forgive you." Ruby said back.

"You do? That easily?" Mandy asked shocked.

Ruby nodded. "Just don't turn out like Regina or Cora."

Emma shot her a look. "Like evil?" Mandy questioned.

"Yea, you seem like a nice girl who's just confused right now."

Mandy put her head down. "Well, I'm really sorry."

Ruby noticed Mandy was hurt a little by what she said. "It wasn't that bad of a joke…it was actually quite comical once you knew what was going on."

"You knew it was Cora?" Mandy asked surprised.

"Not at first, but I caught on after a while and started playing her little game." Ruby smirked.

Mandy laughed. "That makes it even better!"

Ruby laughed. "I better get back to work before Granny yells at me."

Once Ruby was gone, Emma decided to make small talk. "So what was Neverland like?"

Mandy was thrilled to talk about Neverland. She did miss it more than she thought she would. "Neverland was full of adventure and a lot of fun, but it was also full of dangerous creatures."

Emma arched her eyebrows. "Dangerous creatures? Like what?"

"Well, as you know, Neverland is a huge island." She said making hand gestures to try and describe the island. "It's mostly jungle so there are a lot of bird threats."

"How could a bird be a threat?" Emma said not believing her.

"Harpies, are creatures with the bodies of birds but the heads and torsos of women. There are also Stymphalian Birds. They are man-eating birds with beaks of bronze and sharp metallic feathers that they can shoot at their victims." Mandy said describing the two deadly birds that inhabited the island.

"Are there any nice birds?"

Mandy nodded. "A phoenix."

"Just one?"

"Yes, but they have healing powers and scares off all other types of birds so your safe if he's around." She said reassuring Emma that this bird could do a lot even though there was only one.

"Just one bird to ward off all those other ones, that sounds a bit crazy. Did you stay indoors the entire time?" Emma asked wondering what they did every day.

Mandy shook her head. "Oh no, we were out almost every day. It's a big island, you don't always run into them. You don't want to be out at night though."

"And why is that?"

"Because the manticore only comes out at night." She said like Emma should know that.

"The what?" Emma asked not hearing the word before.

"The manticore." Mandy repeated. "It has the body of a lion, the face of a man and the sting of a scorpion. There's only one of them but no one has yet to kill it."

"I thought Neverland was supposed to be fun. Full of fairies and mermaids and some pirates." She said remembering the stories of Peter Pan, none of which included killer birds and a beast.

"Oh there are plenty of all three. Although the mermaids aren't too friendly. They only take a liking to certain people."

"And what happens when they don't like you?"

Mandy shrugged. "They drown you, or try to at least."

Emma saw Ruby coming out with their food. "Oh would ya look at that, our food's here." She didn't think Neverland would be that crazy. She wouldn't have brought it up if she knew there were that many stories Mandy had from there.

"Here you are." Ruby said as she set the food down in front of them and then took a seat next to Emma.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked eyeing the waitress next to her.

"I'm on break and I thought I would sit with you two." Ruby said cheerfully.

"The more the merrier!" Mandy said before taking a sip of her milk.

"So are you excited about your party?" Ruby asked Mandy.

Mandy's face lit up. "Yes, I can't wait! Are you coming?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course! Just got our invitation this morning. I heard everyone's invited."

"Yea, you can thank Snow for that…" Mandy said trailing off.

"Not surprised. She likes to include everyone. Do we really have to get all dressed up though?" Ruby asked.

Mandy put her hand up. "I already tried to change that but I was out numbered."

"I also tried as well but got shot down, so ball gowns it is." Emma added as she stuffed her face.

"I guess I better start shopping then…" Ruby said.

"Oh it absolutely sucks!" Mandy said sighing. "But I hope you have fun." She quickly added.

"Well that doesn't sound promising…" Ruby said.

"Well Emma and I have these really big gowns that our mothers made us get but I'm sure you can get something you like."

Ruby thought for a moment. "I can think of a few dresses I want."

"Are you gonna get a big ball gown like us?" Emma asked.

"Hell no. I want something tight, form fitting." Ruby answered.

"That sounds more like you." Emma said.

Mandy's mind wondered elsewhere while Emma and Ruby were talking. "Do people think I'm evil?" Mandy asked them out of the blue.

Emma and Ruby both looked startled by the question. They looked at Mandy, then at each other before looking back to Mandy. "Ugh…Well…um..." Emma always seemed to fumble with her words.

Ruby jumped in when she noticed Emma was having trouble answering. "Look, Mandy. I'm going to be honest with you. There's been a lot of talk around town…you being the daughter of the Evil Queen and all."

"But she's not evil anymore." Mandy protested.

Ruby rocked her head back and forth. "That's debatable."

"No its not." Mandy said quickly defending her mother.

"Ruby…" Emma said shooting her a look to tell her to knock it off.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Well they were unsure about you at first but after you saved all those kids they knew you weren't like Regina, or Cora for that matter."

"But they don't really know me at all. How can they judge someone without even knowing them?" Mandy shot back.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders. "We all do it."

"So people like me now?" Mandy questioned.

Ruby nodded. "Yea, and everyone I talked to today is going to your party."

I can't believe Regina was right about people hating me for being related to her and Cora. I hate when other people are right. I'm happy people are actually coming though. Mandy looked at her phone. "I gotta get going."

Ruby smirked. "Meeting someone?"

"You could say that." She responded. She didn't want to tell people she was in therapy. Only a few people knew and she wanted to keep it that way. "Oh Emma. Could you tell Snow I'm sorry for making her look crazy for talking to animals?"

Emma laughed. "Yea, I'll tell her."

"Thanks, see ya later." She said before walking out the door.

She had just reached the end of the walkway when she bumped into someone. "Oh. I'm sorry." She looked up and saw who it was.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" She asked surprised to see him.

He laughed. "Nice to see you too." He joked. "I'm here to meet my mother for lunch, what about you?"

I can't tell him about therapy, he'll think I'm crazy. "I was just getting something to eat."

"By yourself?"

Mandy shook her head. "No, I was with Emma cuz…we're friends and stuff." Friends and stuff? I'm so stupid.

"I didn't realize you and Emma were friends. I thought your families hated each other."

"My mother and her mother don't get along but Emma and I don't really have a problem." She responded.

"Interesting." He said nodding his head. "So what did you two talk about?"

"My party mostly." She said smiling.

"That reminds me. I have to ask you something."

"Oh, you could've just texted me." Mandy said smiling stupidly at him.

"I wanted to ask you in person." He answered softly.

"Oh okay. What's up?"

"Would you like to go to the ball with me…well your ball?" He said laughing.

She laughed also. I can't believe he asked me. What should I say? If I say yes, does that mean I'm forgetting Peter? But if I say no, then I might hurt his feelings. I don't like him so what's the harm. Answer him already! "I'd love too!"

Jake exhaled loudly. "You made me nervous for a sec."

Mandy giggled. "Sorry, I had a million thoughts running through my head." Why did you say that? He's going to think you had second thoughts.

"All good I hope!" Jake said flashing a handsome smile.

Maybe I do like him. "All good, no worries." She confirmed smiling back at him.

Jake moved a little closer to her. "Well I'm glad I ran into you, literally."

She laughed. "Me too." She said looking up into his eyes. They made eye contact for a moment but looked away when they realized they were staring at one another.

"I better get going, my mom's waiting." He finally said.

Mandy looked down at her feet. "Right, yea you should do that."

He took one of her hands in his as they made eye contact one last time. "I'll text you later, maybe we can hang out soon."

She nodded looking into his bright blue eyes. He has gorgeous eyes. "I'd like that."

"I'll talk to you later." He said looking over her features one last time before letting her hand slip from his own as he turned to walk into the diner.

She slowly began to walk across the street. She made sure he was in the diner before she walked into Dr. Hopper's office with a smile on her face. She was slowly falling for him, something she thought would never happen.

So I hope you all liked this chapter. How would you all feel about a group therapy session with Mandy,Regina, Emma, Snow, Cora, Charming, Henry, Gold, and Neal? I need help deciding to do it or not. Let me know what you all think and suggestions are welcome!