Author's Note: This is all Emma and Mia. It's a big breakthrough for them and I hope you like how it plays out. I have a good Emma and Henry talk written and planned to include it at the end, but it felt like this should be more of a standalone so I'm saving it for the next chapter. As always, thanks so much for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 19

"Mia!"

Mia recognized Emma's voice and looked up, squinting at an almost blinding bright light in the otherwise dark woods. She couldn't tell just from Emma's voice how angry she was, and she couldn't really see the woman's facial expression at this distance. "Emma?"

It took Mia a minute to realize the light wasn't coming from a flashlight like she originally thought. It was coming from a ball of light that seemed to be…floating in mid-air? Mia shook her head, hoping to clear it…but no…she still saw a floating ball of light. What the hell?

Mia watched with wide eyes as the strange ball of light floated over to her, lingering in front of her for a few seconds before fading out completely. She blinked in the sudden darkness. She didn't think Emma had seen the strange light…Emma didn't react to it going out at all. Great, Mia was the only one that saw it…because it wasn't real.

Mia felt Emma's hands on her shoulders and looked at her. Emma didn't look mad…she looked worried…about her. Mia was still getting used to having someone that worried about her. It wasn't the first time Emma had been worried about her, but this time Mia actually understood why the woman was so worried. She had to look away from the full intensity of Emma's concerned gaze.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked. Mia could still feel Emma's eyes on her, and knew the woman was looking her over for any signs of hurt. There weren't any…Zelena didn't actually hurt her.

"I'm fine," Mia lied. She wasn't fine…she was hallucinating. She didn't know what was wrong with her and it scared the hell out of her, but she didn't want Emma to think she was crazy.

Mia avoided Emma's gaze, not wanting the woman to read the lie on her face. She felt Emma's hands move from the top of her shoulders and then she was being pulled into a tight hug. She didn't understand why the woman was hugging her when she should be yelling at her for what she'd done, but she didn't want her birth mother to let go yet so she didn't question it. All she wanted was her mom and, in that moment at least, her mom was there. She let herself to take comfort in being held by her mom. She threw her own arms around the woman, holding on to her tightly. They stayed like that for a long moment…several seconds at least…maybe even a full minute.

After several long seconds, Mia felt Emma start to pull back a little and reluctantly relaxed her own death grip. The woman pulled away just enough to look at her, moving her hands back to the top of Mia's shoulders.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Mia blurted out what she'd been wondering.

Emma frowned, looking confused. "When have I ever been mean to you?"

"You haven't," Mia said quietly. "I just…I don't deserve it. I mean, not now. I didn't listen to you."

"I know," Emma said evenly.

Mia's eyes widened. "You…you know? Then - aren't you mad at me?"

"Oh, I am. I think I made it pretty clear that I didn't want you to go anywhere near Zelena. But here's the thing - you're a kid…you're supposed to screw up. All kids screw up sometimes. The person I'm really angry with is myself for not stopping you."

Mia shook her head slightly, knowing it didn't matter what Emma did…she would have found a way around her. "You couldn't have stopped me."

Emma looked her straight in the eye. "Yes, I could have. And I am going to stop you if the mood ever strikes you to have a chat with Zelena again," she said in a firmer voice than Mia had heard from the woman before. "Understood?"

Mia lowered her gaze to the ground, nodding.

"I asked you for your word that you would stay away from Zelena before." Emma hadn't exactly asked…it had been more of a demand, but Mia knew it wasn't the time to argue the point. "You didn't have any intention of doing that, did you?"

"No," Mia muttered, hating that her voice came out smaller than normal. She felt like a little kid in that moment.

Emma didn't look surprised. She just nodded slightly to herself, apparently having made a decision…a decision about what to do with her. The woman's expression turned steely and Mia felt her stomach flip-flop. "I know you have a lot of anger toward me. Right now I don't care how angry you are…it doesn't change the fact that I am your mother. I hope it will be possible for you to forgive me some day, but I don't expect forgiveness. There's a lot that's happened to you that you blame me for. I wish I could go back and change things, but I can't. It's too late for that, but it's not too late for me to be your mom. You're twelve. I know you don't feel like a kid, but that's what you are…you're my kid. Whether or not you forgive me, it's time for you to start listening to me."

"Or what?" Mia held her breath as she waited for the answer she expected…something to the effect of 'or I can't do this anymore.'

Emma looked like she was at a complete loss for words for a moment. "Or I don't know if I can protect you from Zelena. I can keep you safe and I will if you just listen to me," she finally said with just the tiniest bit of exasperation in her tone.

"And what if I don't?" Mia didn't know why she was pushing Emma on this, but she wanted – no, needed – to know if it was possible to push her birth mother away. She wasn't going to get close – or closer – to the woman if she was going to be sent back. "What if I screw up yet again? Are you going to send me back?"

Emma met her gaze and Mia saw understanding in her eyes. "No. You can never screw up badly enough for me to just give up on you. You are my daughter. There is nothing you can do or say to change that. You're mine. Okay? Do you understand?"

Mia felt tears forming in her eyes and blinked them back. She nodded mutely, not trusting herself to speak.

"Are you going to stop fighting me on everything?"

"Well, not on everything…"

Emma stifled a small smile. "How about just on Zelena then?"

"I will stay far, far away from her," Mia told her.

Well, that was easy…maybe a little too easy. It was almost like Mia didn't want to talk to Zelena again, which was weird because Zelena seemed pretty confident that Mia would be back for another chat.

Emma narrowed her eyes. "What happened back at the farmhouse? What aren't you telling me?"

"There's nothing to tell."

Emma gave her kid a disappointed look. "I don't believe you."

"Why does it even matter?" Mia asked with frustration in her voice. "I already said I'll stay away from her."

"It matters because you matter," Emma told her. "And the fact that you are so desperate to avoid the question tells me that something happened. Whatever it is, you don't have to be afraid to tell me. I won't get mad. Just tell me honestly – what happened between you and Zelena?"

"I'm not afraid you'll be mad."

"Okay. Then what are you so afraid of?" Emma asked gently.

"That you won't believe me," Mia whispered.

"Tell me the truth and that won't be a problem. I can tell when you're lying."

"It's crazy…she's crazy. Everything she said was just - insane."

Oh. So that was what had her daughter so uneasy. Her own conversation with Zelena ran through Emma's head.

"What did you do to her?"

"I told her the truth."

"That's it? You told her the truth? You didn't turn her into one of your little flying monkeys?"

"I told her what her own mother wouldn't. She didn't even know who Emma really is…the savior. I'm not sure she believed me, but she will."

Emma didn't know exactly what Zelena said to Mia…she didn't know if Zelena had told her everything – and if she had, what kind of spin the other woman might have put on it…she knew Zelena's goal was ultimately to turn Mia against her.

After her conversation with Zelena, Emma had expected her daughter to be angry – maybe even angrier than she had already been - when she found her. Instead, she'd been shocked when the kid that had done nothing but push her away up until that point had accepted a hug from her and even hugged her back, holding on like she never wanted to let go.

Emma knew then that her kid was upset and decided she had to push her to talk. She was about to do exactly that, but it turned out she didn't have to…Mia started talking on her own. Mia knew she had screwed up big-time and was afraid Emma would give up on her, which would never happen. Now Emma realized that wasn't the only thing that her kid was afraid of.

"Mia, I don't know what she said exactly, but what I do know is that Zelena told you I'm the savior," Emma said carefully.

Mia glanced at her guiltily and then quickly looked away. "You knew she was crazy…that's why you wanted me to stay away from her."

"Actually, she's not crazy," Emma said with a sigh. "She's just dangerous. You might even say she's wicked." She watched her daughter to gauge her reaction to that word.

Mia rolled her eyes. "Right, because she thinks she's the Wicked Witch of the West."

"She really is the Wicked Witch of the West. And I really am the savior. That's why I wanted you to stay away from her," Emma told her.

"She thinks you saved everyone from some…some curse," Mia said like it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. Emma knew it probably was.

"I know how crazy it sounds," Emma acknowledged. "But it's true. You can ask anyone in this town." If Regina were still there, Emma would ask her to chime in here, but the other woman had left as soon as they knew the locator spell had led them to Mia.

Mia gave her an incredulous look. "Um…she thinks your parents are fairy tale characters." Her voice was higher than normal.

"Snow White and Prince Charming." Emma offered her daughter an apologetic smile. "Look, Mia, I know how hard it is to believe. Believe me, I know. You want to know how I found out?"

Mia blinked. "How?"

"Henry." Emma took a deep breath and tried to explain. "He had this…storybook with all these fairy tales - and not the normal ones. The Snow White in his book had a daughter. And her daughter - she had this baby blanket…my baby blanket. It's the only thing I had with me when I was found on the side of a freeway as a baby."

Mia looked for a second like she was going to say something, but seemed to think better of it.

"Henry told me every story in the book really happened," Emma continued after a moment.

Mia scoffed slightly, but Emma could tell her heart wasn't really in it. "And you believed him?"

"No, not at first," Emma answered honestly. "I needed proof before I believed."

Mia gave her a considering look. "What kind of proof?"

Emma hesitated, not wanting to scare her daughter with the whole story of the poisoned apple turnover. "Something happened that just wasn't possible, not unless magic was real."

Mia gasped. "It's real? I thought I was going crazy!"

"What?" Emma narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Zelena – um…she kind of 'poofed' across the room. I thought – I thought I was seeing things. But it was real, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Emma's eyes narrowed even more as she studied her kid closely. "Did she do anything to you?"

"No!" Mia said quickly…too quickly.

Emma arched her eyebrows at the lie and gave her daughter an unimpressed look. She tried to keep the frustration out of her voice when she spoke. "Really? You're not going to tell me what she did?"

"She didn't do anything. She just…wouldn't let me leave - I mean, not at first. She let me leave…obviously."

Emma stiffened, and felt her daughter's shoulders tense under her hands in response. "She used magic on you?"

Mia bit her lip. "Yes?"

Emma didn't like that the witch had used magic on her daughter to keep her there until she was done messing with her head, but it could have been a lot worse…she could have turned the girl into a flying monkey or ripped her heart out and crushed it.

Emma sighed. "Mia, listen to me. Zelena could have killed you…she still could. And that would destroy me. I'm not willing to risk your safety. Until I can trust you to actually listen to me, I'm not leaving you alone. That means you're with me or someone I trust at all times."

"So I'm grounded?"

The word 'grounded' caught Emma off guard. She'd never grounded anyone before. She knew mothers grounded their kids when they screwed up – and Mia had really screwed up. But things between her and Mia were different…Emma had been Mia's mother for less than a week. She'd been Henry's mother for a couple of years, and she'd never even grounded him, not even the entire year they were in New York and she was his only parent.

Emma almost never had to do more than talk to her son to get through to him, and she hoped she'd get to that point with her daughter, too. She didn't want to screw up all the progress she had just made with Mia by being punitive now.

"No," Emma told her daughter. "You're not stuck in the room at Granny's with no TV. I'm not trying to punish you here. I'm just trying to keep you safe. Can't you see that?"

Mia blushed and looked away, shrugging slightly. "I already told you I'd stay away from Zelena."

"And it's not the first time you've told me you'd stay away from her."

"I said I was sorry," Mia said weakly.

"Actually, you didn't. And being sorry isn't the same as actually staying away from her."

"Emma? I am sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Mia said with just enough of a tremor in her voice for Emma to realize she might have been a little too harsh.

Emma softened her expression. "I appreciate your apology, but you can't fix this with an apology. You're going to have to prove that I can trust you, and it'll take time."

She gave the girl another hug. Mia buried her head in her shoulder - probably because she was trying to hide the fact that she was tearful again. Emma ignored the urge to kiss the top of the girl's head the way she would have if it had been Henry. Instead, Emma rubbed her back. When she felt the girl shiver slightly in the cold night air, Emma knew it was time to go.

Emma pulled back. "Okay, kid," she said as she stood up, pulling her daughter with her. "You ready to go back now? Nothing like a nice hot cocoa and grilled cheese when it's cold out. Comfort food."