Finishing a story is hard! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's full of Swan-Mills/Charming family cuteness.
The children had become so restless, anticipating the fun that would soon follow dinner that they were incapable of sitting still for the remainder of the meal. Regina and David cheerfully accepted the task of accompanying the little ones to the swing-set that the Charmings had purchase for Charlie's arrival, while Emma chose to stay behind and help her mother clear the table after the family meal. Of course, Regina recognized this as an excuse for Emma to speak candidly with her mother and sends her love a knowing wink before joining their daughter outside. That little signal gives Emma the courage she needs to initiate what will most likely be an awkward conversation.
"I'm sorry about leaving in the middle of dinner tonight," she awkwardly initiates.
Unsure of how best to respond, Mary Margaret busies herself with the task of clearing away plates and utensils. She understands that Regina would definitely have some choice words for her if she caused Emma any more distress that evening. "If I said anything to upset you," she carefully begins.
But the blonde woman cuts her mother off before she can complete her thought. "No. Mom, it was me."
Though Mary Margaret's willingness to accept responsibility for the dinner fiasco puts the younger woman at ease, Emma still finds it necessary to explain her confusing reaction.
"I'm just not ready to talk about that time in my life."
Though the valid excuse would have been satisfactory for Mary Margaret, the younger woman still feels the need to elaborate as they begin rinsing dirty plates and flatware before placing them in the dish washer. She volunteers, "I'm not eager to return to a time when Regina and I weren't together, even in my mind."
The brunette woman accepts the offered explanation and decides to operate on the side of caution by changing the subject. "Well, how does it feel to be home?"
Emma gazes out the window, over the sink, toward her beautiful family. Regina, smiling wildly, is currently chasing two happy children around a large tree in their back yard. Of course Regina could catch the children without difficulty, but she decided to prolong the game in order to increase their laughter.
"I still can't believe that this is real," Emma vocalizes. "It's everything I ever wanted."
The young mother watches her daughter's expression transform from utter happiness to one of foreboding.
"I suppose it will take some getting used to," Mary Margaret acknowledges. Her daughter's sudden melancholy is reason for concern and her curiosity gets the best of her. "Are you happy?"
"Yeah. I really am," Emma answers, though her eyes are telling a different story.
Mary Margaret decides to steer the conversation toward a safer subject. "I know that Regina's happy to have you home."
The younger woman brightens. She watches Regina catch both pursued children in her arms and promptly smother them with kisses. At that moment, Emma couldn't tell which child was happier, her brother or her daughter. They are noticeably experiencing matching states of elation and so is Regina. "I love her so much."
"It's obvious that she loves you too," Mary Margaret verifies.
The blonde woman giggles. She knows that hers and her fiancée's constant display of affection gives them away. "Yeah, she is pretty obvious."
Recognizing that her daughter is lost in thought, the brunette woman interjects, "I never doubted that she'd choose you."
The younger woman allows that comment to affect her and is suddenly brought back to a time when she, herself, had given up hope that she and Regina would ever get their happy ending. With glistening eyes, she turns to face her mother. "Thank you for always believing in us."
The young mother lightly grasps her daughter's hands in a display of sincerity. "I always will. You found your soul-mate. And now you have family."
It had taking a while for the blonde woman to accept the unconditional love so freely given to her by her long-lost parents. And she becomes painfully aware that because of the four year separation, she would have to find acceptance all over again. Averting her eyes, she deflects to a simpler topic. "I want to thank you for everything you did for Charlie."
Recognizing her daughter's discomfort, Mary Margaret releases her hands and promptly resumes washing the serving dishes. "I only wish I had been able to spoil you when you were that age." She returns her gaze to her daughter, whose eyes are now visible. "I'm determined to be the best grandmother I can be to your daughter."
"Speaking of," Emma coyly begins. She cannot stop the automatic smile that spreads across her face. "You may be a grandmother again soon."
Just the thought of another grandchild fills Mary Margaret with unparalleled joy. With tears in her eyes, she turns to face her daughter again. "Are you?" is all that she can manage. She is too overcome to formulate speech.
"We're trying," Emma confirms. She suddenly feels nostalgic, remembering the first time she told her mother that she was pregnant and the unconditional love expressed by Mary Margaret. Back then, Emma was, at the very least, apprehensive about becoming a mother again. And now, she has never been surer about anything. Just thinking about her much wanted child causes her to experience a flood of emotions she was unprepared for.
Mary Margaret captures her blubbering daughter in a calming embrace. She only hopes that one of their spouses doesn't walk in at this vulnerable moment. "I've never been so happy," she clarifies.
The younger woman cannot stop the laughter that escapes her as a result of hilarity of the situation. The contagious laughter quickly spreads to the blonde woman's mother.
As soon as she composes, Mary Margaret asks, "So, does this mean that you and Regina will be getting married?"
The younger woman, smiling in contentment, nods her head. "She asked me."
The young mother was happy before. But now she is positively ecstatic. "When did that happen?"
The younger woman giggles again. This is what she missed the most about her relationship with her mother. "She asked me to marry her a few days ago."
"How did she ask you?" The brunette woman is practically bubbling over with excitement.
"It wasn't a planned proposal," Emma explains. "But it's a moment that I'll remember for the rest of my life." She watches her mother's expression soften and continues, "Regina accepts me the way that I am, with all of my faults and all of my insecurities."
Mary Margaret anticipates a deeper conversation on the horizon and invites her daughter to join her for a seat at the kitchen island.
After they are both settled, Mary Margaret sets out with the goal of gathering more information. "Have you two set a date yet?"
"We haven't really had time to talk about it," Emma reveals. "I don't think either of us wants a big ceremony. In our hearts, we're already married."
Without a second thought, the brunette woman removes the ring that David had given her, nearly forty years ago. "I want you to have this."
Seeing her mother without the iconic piece of jewelry leaves the younger woman with an anxious feeling. "Mom, I can't."
But Snow White is insistent and places the ring in her daughter's hand with the instructions, "Give it to Regina."
"I can't take this," Emma denies, though she is extremely moved by her mother's gesture.
Snow White beams at her beloved child. "Yes you can," she warmly encourages and grasps her daughter's hands in a show of support. "And you should," she assures. "It belonged to your grandmother. It's the ring that brought me and your father together. The moment I placed it on my finger I knew that David was the only one for me." The brunette woman's eyes mimic her daughter's, which are now watering. "I never thought that I would one day part with this ring." She inhales deeply before continuing. "But it's time that I passed it on to my own child."
Growing more uncomfortable with the idea of taking her mother's cherished ring, the symbol of her parents' true love, Emma suggests, "What about Neal? Shouldn't it be passed on to him?"
Unknowingly, Mary Margaret continues to surprise her cherished daughter. "I didn't ever think it possible for a bond to exist like mine and your father's," she admits, "but then you and Regina met." "It took time for you two to realize how much you mean to each other," she illustrates. "It took time for me and David too." She adds, "Not as long, but—"
A knowing laugh escapes the younger woman. "I get where you're going with this."
Mary Margaret maintains, "You and Regina are nothing less than the modern day fairy tale."
Recognizing that her mother is right, Emma offers the brunette woman a genuine smile.
"Take it," Mary Margaret prompts. "Give it to your wife."
"I love you, Mom," the blonde woman replies, humbly accepting her mother's gift.
"I love you," Mary Margaret responds, immediately reciprocating the hug.
"I can't wait to give it to her," Emma announces, admiring the ring cradled in her sweaty palm. Until that moment, she was blissfully unaware of her own nervousness. "I just have to find the right moment."
"You will," Mary Margaret heartens. "I know you will."
The older woman watches Emma carefully place the priceless ring in the pocket of her jeans. "Don't lose it, now," she warns. She has the mother tone down pat.
Emma can already feel the guilt creeping up in anticipation of losing this priceless heirloom. When her mind drifts to thoughts of her fiancée, she decides to ask the dreaded question that had been weighing heavily on her mind. "Mom, can I ask you something?" she begins.
"Of course, honey," the older woman concedes. In her mind, nothing could bring her down. If only she knew the difficult conversation that she would soon have with her daughter.
"After I left," Emma hesitates, "did something happen to Regina?"
This question observably catches Mary Margaret off guard. She knows that anything she says will be a lie. So, instead, she fakes ignorance. "What do you mean?"
Emma presses the issue. "I know something happened to her while I was gone."
"I think you should talk to Regina," the young mother advises.
"I asked her once about the scar on her thigh and we ended up fighting," Emma clarifies. When she notices her mother's immediate concern, she elaborates, "Regina wasn't mad that I asked. She was just upset by the question. That's why I don't want to ask her again."
Mary Margaret avoids her daughter's eyes, directing her attention to the window over the sink.
"I'm just worried about her," Emma reveals. "Sometimes she gets quiet and I don't know where she goes."
After almost a minute, Mary Margaret breaks the loaded silence. "She was beside herself after you left." This admission visibly pains her as she returns, in her mind, to that time in their past. "I watched the strongest woman I have ever known fall apart in front of me."
Emma quickly grasps her mother's hands in earnestness. "What happened?"
When the younger woman notices her mother shake her head in response, she perceives that the truth is more excruciating than she could have imagined.
"I feared for her day and night," Mary Margaret hesitates, "until the day she told me that she was going to find you. Only then did I have hope."
Emma voices her confusion. "But you're Snow White, you always hope."
Mary Margaret goes on to explain, "After the border sealed itself, we knew that we would never see you again." "Except Regina," she adds. "Somehow, she always kept hoping, even when she wanted to give up. You are everything to her."
She knows she probably shouldn't, but that doesn't stop Emma from bringing up an old insecurity. "I know she wanted to find me because of Charlie—"
Mary Margaret cuts her daughter off before she has a chance to finish. "She didn't know about Charlie."
The blonde woman is observably perplexed by this news. "I thought that she must've figured out or, at least, hoped that the baby I was carrying was hers," she reasons.
"She didn't even remember that you were pregnant," the downhearted women deadpans.
Emma Swan acknowledges that she was puzzled before, but now she is utterly baffled. "How did she not remember? I told her about the baby before I left."
Mary Margaret understands that she has backed herself into a corner and regretfully reveals a devastating truth. "She tried to go after you, the day you left, and crashed her car when she hit the town line. It was already sealed by then, but no one knew." She chooses her words carefully so that her daughter might understand the weight of the event. "The responders to the crash said that at the speed she was going she might as well have driven into a brick wall." The horrifying scene replays in her mind. "She almost died."
This information is too much for the younger woman to accept and she reverts to an old coping mechanism, denial. "She didn't tell me this." Becoming frantic, she attempts to counter Mary Margaret's terrible account. "I mean, she told me that she was in an accident. But she said she was fine."
"That doesn't surprise me," Mary Margaret comments. "She doesn't have any memory of the crash. She only knows what she's been told."
Emma is stunned silent.
Mary Margaret continues the dreadful story. "Her vehicle was totaled almost beyond recognition."
Emma watches her mother's features contort, she is apparently reliving that terrible night. "When they finally freed her body from the vehicle…" Her voice trails off. She is too overcome with emotion to prolong her description and has to lift a trembling hand to cover her mouth in an effort to stifle her sobs.
"You were there? You saw her?" The younger woman's eyes are flooded with tears and she silently pleads with her mother to bring her some comfort.
"I often wish I hadn't," Mary Margaret whispers. She struggles to get back to the present. "I'll never forget that moment when I heard one of the paramedics say that he found a pulse." A slight smile tugs at the corner of the older woman's mouth. "My friend was alive. But I knew she would never be the same after that night." She inhales deeply before continuing, attempting regain self-control. "When they brought her to the hospital, she was barely clinging to life." She maintains, "To this day, Dr. Whale still can't find any reason as to why she survived that crash." Mary Margaret had been so immersed in thought that she hadn't noticed that her daughter had suddenly grown pale. "Emma?" But when the younger woman doesn't respond, she tries again. "Honey?"
"I'm a horrible person," the devastated woman cries, her words are almost inaudible.
"What?" Mary Margaret's concern for her daughter only increases. "Honey, why?"
"I was so angry," Emma divulges. As she says the word, she experiences the multitude of emotions all over again. "I was angry for the longest time."
"Emma," the older woman soothes, "what happened isn't your fault. It's not."
"She almost died because of me, because she was going after me." As she hears herself say these awful words, the reality of the situation hits her hard. She falls apart.
Mary Margaret fears that she has said too much. She attempts to bring her daughter back from the siege of guilt. "Emma, you can't blame yourself for what happened. You are not a horrible person."
"I love her," she wails.
"I know you do. And she loves you, more than you'll ever know," Mary Margaret assures. As she rocks her adult child, she attempts to finish her story, "She was in a coma for several weeks and lost part of her memory." She feels the younger woman hug her tighter. "The last thing she remembers is breaking up with you over the phone."
Emma takes a minute to process this new information before slowly lifting her head to meet her mother's eyes, silently imploring for some words of consolation.
"She didn't remember that she was going after you when she crashed and she didn't remember that you were pregnant," the older woman reveals. "And I never told her."
"She really didn't know?" the crumpled blonde innocently asks.
Mary Margaret shakes her head in response. "You don't ever need to doubt that woman's love for you."
Several minutes pass before the two women are startled out of the shared moment when Regina enters the kitchen.
The queen's face instantly mimics her friend's and her fiancée's. Apparently all three are experiencing matching states of surprise. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"It's alright," Snow White promptly announces. Her anxiety has suddenly skyrocketed.
Mary Margaret doesn't want to imagine how Regina would react if she finds out that she is the cause of Emma's tears. She had better formulate an excuse and fast.
"Emma and I were just catching up," she cheerfully explains. But she immediately recognizes her error when Regina eyes her suspiciously.
The dark-eyed beauty directs her attention to her favorite blonde. "I just came to see if you were still coming outside." She adds, "Charlie was asking for you."
"I'm coming," Emma confirms, as she attempts to discretely wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. "I was just talking to Mom." She tries to sound casual in her explanation.
After a period of loaded silence, Mary Margaret announces, "I should go check on Neal."
Regina waits until her friend has exited to kitchen before rushing to the woman she loves. "Are you alright?" she implores, lightly grasping the younger woman's biceps. Concerned by the remnants of tears, she reaches a single hand up to cradle her lover's face. "What's wrong?"
Emma smiles in contentment. "Nothing," she answers. "Everything is perfect."
The queen exhales audibly. "You scare me sometimes."
"I'm sorry." The blonde woman wraps her arms around her queen's neck. "I'm just really happy," she whispers.
Though she detects that this woman might be lying, the queen accepts Emma's proclamation.
Becoming nervous, Emma decides to crack a joke. "I should probably tell my face then."
Regina effortlessly joins in the joke. "I wasn't going to say anything."
The shared laughter, in combination with the close proximity leads to a tender kiss that quickly deepens.
After a few moments of total bliss, safe in the arms of the woman she loves Emma breaks the incredibly loving display. "I love you so much," she affirms.
The euphoric queen offers a warm smile. "I love you too."
Working up the nerve to do what she doesn't want to wait another minute to do, Emma starts simply. "Can we go outside?"
"Yes, of course," the older woman enthusiastically replies. "That's why I came to get you."
"Out front," the younger woman clarifies. The build up is only intensifying.
"Okay," Regina agrees, but the uncertainty is evident in her voice.
Emma dons her trademark leather jacket, before taking hold of Regina's hand and leading her out the front door and down the steps of the porch.
"Where are we going?" Regina inquires out of curiosity.
The blonde woman walks a few more feet before stopping to answer. "We're here." As she says it the familiar butterflies begin fluttering in her stomach.
A small laugh escapes the older woman. "I don't understand."
The blonde woman licks her bottom lip in anticipation. "Do you know where we are?" she asks hopefully.
The brunette woman worries her brow. "This is our front yard." She switches tactics. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Emma only smiles to herself, but has to avert her eyes that are suddenly stinging with fresh tears. She sniffs and looks up to meet Regina's eyes once again. "This is where we met." The sudden realization is evident in her partner's expression, as she watches the older woman soften. "It was seven years ago when I drove Henry back here after he came to find me." She inhales a shuddered breath. "Do you remember that night?" Her voice is more of a squeak now.
"Yes," Regina answers. She is obviously having trouble keeping her own tears at bay. "I remember it very vividly." A grateful smile spreads across her face.
Now that Regina is overcome with emotion, this exchange is becoming easier for the younger woman.
"I remember you were sick with worry," Emma illustrates.
"I was," Regina verifies.
"But, I'll never forget the first moment I saw you." Emma holds the older woman's hands more securely. "I was standing right here, in this spot," she narrates, determined not to lose her nerve. "When you opened that door…" she quickly trails off and has to inhale deeply before resuming. "I had never seen anything more beautiful."
Regina easily frees a hand and retrieves a wrinkled tissue from her pocket.
"I just stood by awkwardly as I watched you race to hug Henry," Emma continues as she watches the adorableness of her fiancée attempting to casually blow her nose with one hand. "As distraught as you might have been, you were still…" She hesitates. "There was just something familiar about you, as if I'd known you my whole life."
Regina meets the passionate younger woman's gaze.
"I was so nervous," Emma admits, offering Regina a weak smile. "I thought for sure you'd notice."
Regina wraps both arms around her fiancée, burying her face in the space between the blonde woman's neck and shoulder.
As Emma rocks the regal woman, she confesses. "I never could have imagined that one day I'd be standing here, holding you in my arms."
In a muffled voice, Regina asks, "Are you trying to make me cry?" But she isn't fooling anyone. She is already crying.
When Emma kisses Regina's cheek, the two women easily break the tender hug. As Regina strives for composure, quickly wiping tears from her face, Emma uses the opportunity to dig into her pocket unnoticed.
"I wanted to wait until the perfect moment to give this to you."
Regina stops suddenly, she can't believe what she is hearing.
"But, I realize now, that every minute with you is a gift. I never want to take another one for granted again."
The older woman's surprise is evident. "That's your mother's ring."
"It was my grandmother's," Emma informs. "She gave it to my father to give to his future wife." She licks her lips again, before kneeling before her queen. "This is your ring now, if you'll still have me."
Regina is a positive wreck. Never in her wildest dreams could she or would she have imagine the woman she loves bowing before her. She is almost crying too much to formulate words. All she can manage is a whisper. "Always."
"Your hand, my queen."
A tiny laugh escapes the queen before she extends a trembling hand. "My hands won't stop shaking."
Emma thought that she would be so smooth compared to her emotional fiancée. She quickly recognizes her error. "Now mine are shaking too."
"That's okay," Regina encourages. "I like a challenge."
The two women promptly erupt with laughter at the hilarity of the situation.
"Don't drop it," Regina cautions, through a fit of giggles.
"I won't drop it," Emma assures, "I promise." She finally achieves her goal of placing the valued heirloom on her beloved's finger.
"I never realized how beautiful it was," Regina comments. She is absolutely enamored with her new treasure.
"It's yours and I'm yours, forever." Emma rises to a standing position, immediately capturing her fiancée in a strong embrace. "Don't cry. Baby, don't cry."
"This is just something that happens whenever I'm happy now," Regina explains.
"You are happy?" the blonde woman asks, hopefully.
"I'm happy I didn't kill you," Regina teases.
"Yeah, thanks," Emma playfully replies.
Regina returns to a more serious tone. "Are you feeling better?"
Emma responds with a reassuring kiss. She is determined not to let anything bring her down. "Let's go play with our kid."