Chapter 20

Emma kept a hand on her daughter's shoulder, guiding her through the woods. The only light came from Emma's cell phone screen, and they could only see the ground that was right in front of them, but she knew where she was going. She was just using the light to avoid tripping over roots or branches in the darkness.

"So how'd you know where I was?" Mia asked, giving her a curious look.

Emma didn't know if she wanted her daughter to know how easily she could be found with a locator spell. With as many times as Henry had run off and the instinct to run that she knew Mia had and had already acted on, Emma wasn't going to tell her anything that might give her ideas on how not to be found. Once the kid realized magic only worked in Storybrooke, she would know locator spells wouldn't work if she just crossed the town line. Emma would still find her if she ever did that, but Mia would be harder to find.

"Actually, I didn't. Not really. I thought you'd be with Zelena. That's the first place I looked."

"It is?" Mia said in a surprised tone.

Emma gave the girl a questioning look, feeling a little insulted that she was so surprised. She was good at finding people.

"I…thought you'd think I was on a bus back to New York or something," Mia explained, shrugging slightly.

To be fair, the thought had crossed her mind, but Emma had never really thought that was where Mia was, not even before she saw that the girl's backpack and stuff was still in the room at Granny's.

"I know I'm still getting to know you, but I know me, and it seems to me like you're the same way I am," Emma said carefully, not knowing how her daughter would react. "I looked for you where I would have been if it were me."

"And you would have been with the Wicked Witch of the West?"

"No. Let's just say when I found out Mary Margaret was my mother, I didn't listen to her either."

"And you're mad at me for not listening to you?" Mia was looking at her like she was the biggest hypocrite in the world.

"Yes," Emma said unapologetically. "The situations are similar, but they're not exactly the same. I was twenty-eight. You're twelve. It's different."

"It's not that different," Mia muttered under her breath.

Emma sighed wearily. "Yes, it is," she insisted. "I'm an adult. I can take care of myself - and I'd been doing that for ten plus years when I met my parents. You're a kid. When I found you, you were living in an abandoned house eating candy for breakfast. See the difference?"

Mia looked like she wanted to argue, but couldn't come up with a good argument. She kicked the ground in frustration instead, wincing slightly after her foot connected with the ground. She probably thought she'd been taking great care of herself and didn't appreciate Emma telling her otherwise.

Emma wanted to roll her eyes, but didn't. "Well, that was real adult."

"Being a kid sucks!"

"I know. It sucks when the foster parents that are supposed to take care of you don't. And you have been in that situation. So have I so I know it sucks. But you're with me now, and I'm going to take care of you. Don't you want that? To be taken care of?" Emma asked, giving her daughter a searching look.

The question hung between them for several long seconds. All kids wanted to be taken care of, especially kids that had never really been taken care of before, but Emma didn't know if her kid would admit that was what she wanted. It would be easier for both of them if Mia did, but Emma knew how hard it would be for Mia to admit.

"Is that why you're doing all this? Because you don't think I can take care of myself?" Mia asked with hurt in her voice.

"No. I'm doing it because I'm your mother," Emma told her.

Mia's expression hardened. "And you're supposed to."

"Yes…no. I'm doing it because I want to…because I care about you."

Mia glanced at her seemingly in surprise and then quickly looked down at the ground, blushing. "Maybe…maybe it wouldn't totally suck to be taken care of," she mumbled quietly.

"Then stop fighting me and let me take care of you," Emma said, offering her daughter a tired yet soft smile.

Mia looked up, smirking slightly. "Hey, I only agreed to stop fighting you on Zelena."

Mia definitely wasn't going to make anything easy on her, was she? Emma just shook her head slightly at the girl.

Mia tilted her head to look at her curiously. "So what'd you do that Mary Margaret didn't want you to? You said you didn't listen to her…"

"Oh. Um…I almost got myself killed by an ogre because I didn't listen to her. The same way you could have gotten yourself killed today," Emma said, arching her eyebrows pointedly.

"Seriously? An ogre?" Mia said, choosing to ignore the reminder of what could have happened to her.

Emma let out a short laugh. "Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction, too, kid. Mary Margaret shot it in the eye with an arrow to stop it from killing me."

Mia stared in disbelief. "Mary Margaret? The same Mary Margaret that reads baby books and knits blankets? That's actually kind of badass."

"She was protecting me. That's what mothers do, even when their kids don't make it easy." Emma nudged the girl's shoulder and was glad to see the hint of a small, sheepish grin on the girl's face.

"So are there, like, ogres running around town?" Mia asked.

Emma glanced at her. "Why? Are you going to go looking for one? Because I've got to tell you - I'm not that good with an arrow."

Mia snorted. "No. I was just wondering."

When they reached Granny's, Mia swiped furiously at her now-dry eyes and scrubbed her hands over the tear tracks that had long-since dried on her face.

Emma smiled sympathetically at the self-conscious girl. "How about you go take a hot shower to warm up and I'll order for you? Grilled cheese?"

Mia gave her a small, grateful smile and nodded. Emma watched the girl disappear down the long hallway and into their room before turning to go through the door that connected the bed-and-breakfast to the diner, where she found Henry sitting in a booth by himself, picking at a plate of fries.

Emma slid into the booth across from Henry, feeling guilty that he'd been alone. "Hey, kid, how long have you been sitting here alone?"

"I haven't been alone," Henry told her. Emma followed his gaze to where Regina was standing. "I was with my other mom. She's just talking to Mary Margaret and David."

"Fries for dinner?" Emma questioned, frowning slightly at the plate of fries.

"It's just an appetizer," Henry told her with a small grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"For what? An ice cream sundae?" Emma gave him a long look, offering him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about all of this…stuff with your sister."

Henry shrugged. "It's okay."

"It is?" Emma asked in a surprised tone. She didn't think it was okay that Regina had been there for Henry and she hadn't been. She should have been there for him, too.

"Well, no. But it's not your fault. It's hers," Henry said in an accusatory tone. "She should be happy she's with us now, but she's not. And she's making you feel guilty."

Emma could tell the reason her son was angry was that Mia was hurting her, and it tugged on her heartstrings a little. This kid… "She makes me feel guiltier," she corrected gently. "But, Henry, I already feel guilty, whether she forgives me or not – whether you do."

"I do," Henry told her fiercely.

Emma smiled. "I'm glad. But I still feel guilty…I have always felt guilty. I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself. The fake memories Regina gave us – the life we could have had if I had been brave enough to keep you? It was really good. It was the kind of life I wanted for you and for Mia."

Henry held her gaze. "You don't have to feel guilty. You gave us up to give us our best chance."

"Yeah, but things could have been better for you…and not just for your sister…but for you, too, Henry."

Henry looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you don't remember right now," Emma started carefully, "but not everything you went through was good."

"I wish I remembered," Henry said with frustration in his voice.

"I know."

Henry's eyes narrowed slightly, a look of betrayal crossing over his face. "You don't want me to remember…do you?"

"Kid…" Emma looked at him, not knowing what to say because it was true…there was a part of her that didn't want him to remember the tough stuff he'd been through because of curses and evil villains. "You want your memories back, and I'm going to try to find a way to make that happen."

"Whatever it is you don't want me to remember," Henry said slowly…like he was thinking as he spoke, "I know you would never hurt me." He looked at her with complete confidence. "And…I don't think my other mom would either."

Emma had hurt him though…by not believing in him the way he had always believed in her. She pictured Henry lying in the hospital bed when he was under the sleeping curse. If she had just believed him about Regina's curse…

Emma swallowed the guilt. "You're right, kid," she said after a moment. It felt like a lie, and it didn't feel good to lie to him, even if it was never her intention to hurt him. "But maybe we didn't always do the best job protecting you."

"Protecting me from what?" Henry demanded.

Emma sighed, thinking of the second time she'd almost lost her son. "One of the things I love about you is that you always want to see the best in everyone." He always saw the best in her, even when she didn't see it in herself. "But not everyone is good, especially in this world where there are people that have magic."

Henry's eyes got big and round. "Someone hurt me, didn't they? With magic?"

"Someone tried," Emma said grimly. Her grip on her coffee mug tightened as she thought of Peter Pan.

"You saved me," Henry said…like it was almost a foregone conclusion. His complete faith in her still shocked Emma sometimes. She couldn't ever remember having that kind of faith in anyone.

"I had some help," Emma said honestly. "And even with that, we were almost too late."

Henry was quiet for a moment as he processed it. "But you weren't." He glanced at her with a sudden understanding in his eyes. "Were you too late to save Mia? Is that why she makes you feel so guilty?"

Emma knew that she was too late to save her daughter from Trey and from twelve years of people like Trey who had only hurt her. She was too overwhelmed with guilt to speak.

"She said her last foster father was arrested for hurting her foster mom," Henry continued, sounding almost scandalized. "Is that true?"

"Yeah, kid, it is. He was a really bad guy." That wasn't exactly what Emma wanted to say, but she stopped herself from saying what she really thought of the bastard that had almost raped her twelve year old daughter.

"He hurt Mia, didn't he?"

Emma's eyes widened. "Did she tell you that?"

"No. You just did," Henry told her. "You really hate him…I can tell. You don't always like the perps from your cases, but the only way you'd hate him this much is if he hurt someone you love."

"He did hurt her, but don't ask her about it, okay?" Emma said cautiously, knowing Mia wouldn't react too well to that.

"I already did," Henry admitted sheepishly.

What? "Wait, when did you ask her about it?"

Henry played with his fries. "After our dad's funeral."

Emma looked at her son with a knowing expression. "It was before she left, wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to understand why she's so mad at you," Henry said earnestly.

"Kid," Emma said with a small sigh. "Going through it was painful enough. It's probably not helpful to remind her of it…or anything else she went through in the system."

"Is that why you never talk about what it was like growing up in the system?" Henry asked sadly.

Emma stilled. "Henry…"

"What? You grew up in the system like Mia, and you never talk about it. You can tell me, you know. I can handle it. Did your foster parents hurt you?"

"Henry, I didn't have the best childhood, and it's a part of my life I want to forget," Emma said carefully.

Henry frowned. "But you always tell me that talking to you about what's bothering me will make me feel better."

Well, he had her there. She did always tell him that. "Well, that is a superpower that moms have."

Henry looked at her with raised eyebrows. "I thought your superpower was knowing when I'm lying."

Emma glanced at him with an amused expression. "Yeah, that, too, but that's not a mom thing. It's not just when you and Mia lie…it's when anyone lies to me."

"I think I have that, too," Henry told her.

"Oh, really?" Emma said in an amused tone.

"Mr. Smee walked Mia back to Granny's…Mr. Smee like from Peter Pan," Henry said, watching her carefully. "Killian said it's a common seafaring name. But he was lying, wasn't he?"

"Yes…"

Emma gave Henry the Cliff's Notes version of the fairy tale characters currently running around Storybrooke and their history. She was telling him who Zelena really was when Regina came back over, sliding into the booth next to Henry gracefully.

"So she's really the Wicked Witch of the West?"

Regina glanced at Emma in surprise, but recovered quickly. "Yes, Henry, she is," she cut into the conversation, answering before Emma could. She took a deep breath. "And she's especially dangerous to you because she's my sister."

As they neared Granny's, Mia felt a wave of self-consciousness wash over her. She knew she was a mess. Everyone would know she'd been crying like a baby.

Mia tried to catch a glimpse of her reflection in the window of the diner, wishing she had a mirror. She swiped at her red-rimmed eyes. Maybe she could go wash her face in the bathroom before anyone saw her.

Emma's voice broke into her thoughts. "How about you go take a hot shower to warm up and I'll order for you? Grilled cheese?"

Mia glanced at Emma in surprise. She almost asked what happened to not leaving her alone, but her brain caught up with her mouth and she realized it wouldn't be smart to remind Emma of that just then, not if she actually wanted to get cleaned up, which she did. Instead, she just nodded and headed toward the room before Emma could change her mind.

Although she hadn't accepted her apology, Emma didn't even really seem mad anymore. Mia was used to adults – or at least angry foster parents - being angry with her. Angry adults yelled and screamed, slapped her around, locked her in her room, or sent her back if they were really angry. Angry adults didn't hug her like Emma had or kid around with her like Emma had been.

Mia understood that the punishments for real kids were different than the punishments for foster kids. She'd been in a few foster homes where the parents had a kid of their own. She'd also heard kids at school complaining about being 'grounded' for things that Mia knew she would have been kicked out for. It was funny…they weren't allowed to go anywhere, whereas she would have been gone for good.

Emma's reaction didn't seem to fit into either the foster parent category or the real parent category. Emma was mad – or at least she had been mad…she had said as much. And yet Emma wasn't going to punish her. It didn't make sense.

Mia stood under the showerhead for a long time and just let the hard spray wash away the tear tracks on her face from crying, the sweat from running from the farmhouse, and the grime from fighting her way through the woods. The hot water felt good after being out in the cold.

When she got out of the shower, Mia pulled on Emma's Yankees sweatshirt and one of the new pairs of jeans Emma had bought her than she hadn't worn yet. The sweatshirt was warm and comfortable, and still smelled like Emma even though the woman's scent had faded a bit since Mia had been wearing it for the last week.

Mia used the blow dryer for about five minutes before she grew impatient. Her hair wasn't wet anymore, but it was still a little damp and was curling into waves. She considered borrowing Emma's flat iron, but decided she didn't have the patience for straightening her hair. It hadn't taken long when Emma was helping her, but Mia thought it would take a lot longer if she were the one straightening it.

Mia studied her reflection in the mirror carefully, satisfied that it didn't look like she'd been crying anymore. She was embarrassed that she'd cried on Emma's shoulder like a little girl that needed her mommy. She couldn't really blame the woman for treating her like some stupid kid now, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

It was hugely annoying that Emma was always reminding her of her age, and Mia didn't like that Emma kept calling her 'kid,' although she had heard Emma call Henry 'kid' affectionately and knew the woman didn't mean it the way some of her foster parents had when they referred to her as a 'stupid kid' or a 'screwed up kid.' But being a kid in the foster care system had always been a bad thing.

Mia could vaguely remember being small, young, and helpless in the first few foster homes she'd been in. She remembered how easy it was for the bigger kids to push her around back then and how the foster parents always acted like helping her with anything was a big chore. Foster parents always seemed to have a higher level of tolerance for her when she could take care of herself and didn't need or want anything from them.

In spite of what Emma seemed to think, Mia really could take care of herself. Okay, maybe she had been eating candy bars for breakfast, but at least she'd been eating. Heck, she'd eaten better the week she'd been completely on her own than she had in some of the foster homes she'd been in. She'd been doing just fine before Emma found her living alone in the Gilberts' house.

Since then Emma had been giving her everything she needed without Mia ever having to ask for it - and not just the basics like food and clothes. Mia would never ask for it and didn't think she would ever initiate it, but she liked Emma's little motherly touches…the way the woman would put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeeze gently or wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. She both hated and liked talking to her birth mother. She hated it because it was hard…the things they had talked about stirred up old feelings of rejection, and made Mia feel like crying or screaming – or both. She liked it because talking to Emma had made her feel better somehow. It was kind of nice to be taken care of, at least the way Emma had been taking care of her.

Mia didn't quite know what to make of Emma. The woman was different from any of the other adults she had ever known. Her birth mother was different in a good way, but her reactions were just so different from what Mia had come to expect that Mia had absolutely no idea what to expect from her. Mia felt like the woman was always catching her off guard. It was an uncomfortable feeling for someone like Mia who was so guarded.

Mia slipped her sneakers on and made her way out to the diner. She shuffled over to the booth where Emma was sitting across from Henry and the mayor, hesitating slightly when she saw the mayor.

Thanks to Zelena, Mia now knew that the mayor was Henry's adoptive mother, and she didn't really know how to feel about that. The woman had been nice enough to her, but Mia knew the woman had wanted her twin brother and hadn't wanted her. It made Mia feel like she wasn't good enough, and that made her resentful.

"Yes, Henry, she is. And she's especially dangerous to you because she's my sister," the mayor said. Her sister? Was she talking about Zelena?

Emma caught Mia's eye and moved over a little bit, looking at the empty space beside her and then back at her. Mia gave her a small smile and sat down next to her.

Henry frowned, looking at his adoptive mother in confusion. "If she's your sister, she's family…she's my aunt. Why – why would she be dangerous to me?"

"She's not exactly Aunt Becky." Mia received two blank stares and realized she'd spoken out loud - and it didn't look like the mayor appreciated her commentary. "Full House?" More blank staring. "No? Okay..."

Henry's expression turned bewildered. "How do you know?"

Mia was surprised he didn't know what she had done…she thought Emma would have told him. "Oh, um-"

"Oh, your sister and my sister are well-acquainted," the mayor told Henry.

"We're not really well-acquainted. Just…acquainted," Mia said with a nervous glance at Emma. "But, um, your- Madam Mayor is right…she is dangerous to you."

"Did she say something to you about Henry?" The mayor demanded.

Mia could feel Emma's eyes on her, practically boring a hole into the side of Mia's head. Emma was probably angry that she hadn't told her earlier, but Mia really didn't think there was anything to tell. It hadn't exactly been a threat. Mia would have told if she thought Zelena had some evil plan to kidnap her brother, but Zelena didn't, at least not that she'd shared.

"Um…well, she said that if she wanted to use anyone as bait for Emma, it would be Henry," Mia said slowly.

The mayor's eyes narrowed with something like suspicion. "Why would she tell you that?"

"Because I asked her if I was bait."

The mayor arched her eyebrows. "And why would you think you were bait? You were hardly kidnapped."

Mia shrugged, lowering her gaze to the tabletop and examining a chip in the surface near the edge.

Emma seemed to realize Mia wasn't going to say anything after a beat of silence and tried to explain. "She used magic to keep Mia there until she was ready for her to leave."

Henry gasped. "She used magic on you? Are – are you okay?"

Mia glanced at her twin in surprise. She knew he was mad at her because he thought she was being horrible to Emma so she didn't expect the concern she heard in his voice. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"One of my mother's signature moves," the mayor mused almost to herself. "And her favorite way to control me."

It hadn't occurred to Mia that her mother might use magic on her. She turned to Emma, frowning slightly. "Can you do that – with your…magic?"

Emma looked hurt that she would ask. "There's a difference between being able to do something and being willing to do it."

"So you wouldn't use magic on me?"

"She wouldn't do that!" Henry exclaimed, looking offended on Emma's behalf.

Emma smiled at Henry. "No. I wouldn't." She hesitated before adding softly, "Not unless I had to in order to protect you or save you."

"Can we get back on topic here? Did you know about this? That she threatened Henry?" The mayor demanded, staring at Emma in an almost accusatory way.

Emma glanced at Mia with a hard expression and then turned back to the mayor. "No."

"It wasn't a threat. I would have told you if she threatened him," Mia told them. "It was more of a hypothetical situation."

Ruby brought their food over, and Mia quickly took a big bite of her grilled cheese. She hoped the mayor wouldn't question her if her mouth was full. And even if the mayor did question her further, Mia figured it would buy her time to come up with answers that wouldn't upset anyone.

But the mayor seemed to have given up on getting straight answers out of her and turned to Emma instead. "Miss Swan. A word?"

Without waiting for a response, the mayor stalked off. Mia got out of the booth to let Emma up and watched as Emma trailed after the mayor to the back hallway, wondering what they were talking about that they couldn't talk about in front of her and Henry.

Mia sighed and looked at her twin. "You may not believe me. No one may believe me, but I really would have told you guys if I thought Zelena was going to, like, kidnap you."

Henry studied her for a moment, nodding slightly. "I believe you. And our mom will, too. She can always tell when anyone is lying to her."