I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. I actually took the time to re-outline the entire thing as I changed the way that I wanted it to end. Once again, thank you for all of the reviews, feedback, and favorites. Enjoy.
Chapter 9 - Always Am
Well, you could say that dinner went off without a hitch. If that is what you would call the looks of despair that would cascade my mother's face every time she heard a story about me stealing, being chased by the police, or breaking into someone's summer home. Yeah, you guess it. She asked Lily how we met all those years ago. Oh, don't misunderstand me. My parents knew that my life before Storybrooke wasn't all sunshine and roses. But in the past week they heard how I was nearly beaten to death and before that I was a thief and who was breaking and entering at the age of 14.
Every couple of minutes or so I would steal a glance to Henry . He was holding on to every word that our guests had said as Lily told our story and JC told some other stories. Which really scared the hell out of me. It was then that I understood the grimaces that Mary Margaret was making, because as mother you never want to think about your kid having to do any of that to survive. Hell, you never want your kid to do any of that period.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Regina looking down at her watch, "What time is it?" I asked.
"Nine o'clock," she gave a gentle smile to Henry, "Are you coming with me or are you staying here tonight?"
I could see on his face that he wanted to stay at the loft, but another round of being interrogated by my parents was about to happen, and frankly he would better in his own bedroom tonight. "Henry, why don't you go with Regina, I'll pick you up from school tomorrow and we can hang out for awhile, just you and me. What do ya say, kid?"
He smiled at that suggestion, "Ok, let me get my bag." He hurried away up the stairs. I knew that he had a lot of questions for me about my time with Lily and JC. I had no problem giving him the answers, sort of, I would definitely sugar coat them. But he needed it to be just me and him. And, quite honestly, I was fortunate that he still enjoyed our one on one time. Most teenagers were looking for ways to avoid their parents.
"Are you two driving back to Augusta tonight?" I heard my mother ask.
JC and Lily were getting up to make there exit as well, "No, we're staying at Granny's tonight then heading to Boston in the morning. We both have the next couple of days off, so we decided to take a little weekend getaway." He put his arm around her and she snuggled into to him like they were newlyweds going on their honeymoon. I pushed down the nauseous feeling as I rolled my eyes and looked away.
I sat back in my chair with my head down and my hand lifted to my earlobe absentmindedly playing with my earring. "Oh that sounds so romantic," my mother continued. "I wish that David and I had the time to get away like that, every now and then."
I couldn't stifle the groan that escaped my mouth. "Well you guys have a safe trip to Boston, tomorrow." I jumped up and ushered them to the door. "We're supposed to get a little more snow overnight."
"Yeah, that is why we brought Lily's jeep, it's not great on gas, but it has four wheel drive."
"Hey, I'll walk you guys out." Yes, I was rushing them out. This night was starting to wear on me. I really didn't care what vehicle they brought or that they were escaping to Boston for a romantic getaway. I just wanted them to leave. JC nodded to my offer and turned toward David and Mary Margaret. He thanked them for their hospitality then we made our way downstairs. "Are you guys all setup at Granny's?"
"Yeah, we stopped to check in on our way through town. I like that little place, it's quiet." He leaned in to give me a hug, "it's been great spending some time with you, super swan."
"Oh, it has been good to see you too," I pulled away and turned to give a small shy hug to Lily. "And you, I never thought that I would see you again."
"It was wonderful to see you again, Emma."
We gave our final goodbyes, and I waved to them as they pulled away from the building. Just as I was reentering the building, Henry and Regina were leaving. "Hey, Kid, be good."
He gave me a quick hug and a kiss to the cheek, "always am." I just shook my head as he ran off to climb into Regina's car.
"Goodnight, Emma…"
"Goodnight, Regina," I turned to enter the building when I heard Regina call me back.
"Emma,"
"Yeah," I spun on my heel.
"Was that her? The friend that you had when you were a kid?" Wow, Regina was more observant that I gave her credit for being. The night that Regina and I were looking for the Snow Queen; when she had Sidney trapped in the mirror; I had vaguely told her the story of Lily and I. Although I didn't go into great detail, I told her about a friend that lied to me and I walked away from only to feel guilty for never forgiving. That was the night I told Regina that I thought that she and I could be friends. That I didn't want to make the same mistake twice.
"Yeah," I looked back to see that their car had already vanished down the street. "That was her."
Regina gave a slight nod. I looked down and away for a few short seconds before I opened the door and climbed the stairs back to the loft.
I entered the apartment to see that my parents were trying to keep themselves occupied while they awaited my return. Of course, they were standing next to the sink washing the dishes where they had the perfect view of the door.
"So?" David spoke up first. The dish in his hand was no doubt already dry but he continued to wipe it with the towel without taking his eyes off of me.
"So what?" I kicked off my boots opting for my more comfortable slider sandals instead. I grabbed a stack of plates from the table on my way past carrying them to the kitchen to be washed.
"So, what did she say? Is she going to put a tail on Gold?" He had finally given up his dry plate for a new one from the strainer. Again not looking at what he was doing but rather staring intently at me like I was going to tell him the secret to life.
"Oh, yeah, that." I sat on one of the stools next to the island reaching for one of the cookies that my mother had made for dessert. I was surprised that there were any left; I'm guessing that either Regina or my mother had stopped Henry from finishing them off. "No."
"N…no?" He put his plate down and flipped the towel over his left shoulder. "Why not?"
"Because I didn't ask her." It was a matter of fact statement. No elaboration. I just took another bite of my cookie. I watched David cut a hard look to Mary Margaret. She let go of a little chuckle of know while she poured me a glass of milk to go with my cookie. She knew what I was doing. She knew that I was playing one of my favorite father-daughter games called, simply, Frustrate Dad.
Mary Margaret slid the glass of milk in my direction. With a cookie in one hand, I reach for the glass with other. What I didn't expect was for David to pull the glass away from me as quickly as Mary Margaret put it there. "What do you mean you didn't ask her?"
"Hey, give me my milk back!" I swung my arm toward him in an attempt to grab it back but he only pulled it further back from my reach.
"You can have your milk back, when you answer my question." I attempted one more grab, but this time he took a full step backward out of my reach.
"Mom," Yep, I was playing the whining child card. The game was supposed to be Frustrate Dad, not Frustrate Emma.
"No, I didn't ask her." I finally relented giving them a more serious answer.
"Why?"
"I don't trust her."
"You don't trust her?" David repeated with a tone of disbelief.
"I don't understand," Mary Margaret was finally being more than a spectator. "I thought that she was your friend. That you two were…"
"Did you not hear the story tonight?" I thought that it was obvious, but maybe not. "From the first moment that we met, she lied to me. We spent a grand total of about 8 hours together before her dad caught us in their summer home and he had me shipped back to social services. Yeah, she begged me to forgive her that night and I didn't. I felt guilty for a lot of years after that. But seeing her today for the first time since that night, hearing her apologize to me out in the hallway then telling all of you, telling Henry the story. It all came flooding back and I was angry all over again."
"What did you two talk about out there?" Mary Margaret asked abandoning the rest of the dishes.
"Nothing really, I apologized to her for walking away that night and she to me. I asked her how she hooked up with JC. She said that they had a mutual connection through me, they were both looking for me and when he told her of our past they began to work together to find me."
David crossed his arms, "so you think that they are plotting something?"
"I don't know. I mean, I don't really know what they would have to plot, but it all seems just a little too coincidental. No, I think the best way to figure out what Gold is up to is for me to go see for myself."
"I don't know if I like the idea of you going after Gold by yourself. And…and what about the town line?" David was putting on his concerned Dad face now and Mary Margaret was following suit.
"The town line has never been a barrier for me before, or Henry. And I was immune from the Snow Queen's spell. So I don't think that they town line will be much of a problem for me. But just in case, I'll take something with me that belongs in Storybrooke."
"Ok, so humor me a minute," I looked over to my mother. I raised my eyebrows urging her to continue with her question. "Say you leave town for Augusta and you find Gold, then what? What are you hoping to find? So far, the only thing that has even fueled this investigation, as it were, is the fact that he went to see JC to access your file and you have a picture of him talking to some woman. You said yourself that he already knows everything about your past. It's been weeks since he left and he can't even get back into town. What has you so riled up that you feel the need to track him down and confront him?"
"First of all, I never said anything about confronting him. And secondly, I don't know. I just have this feeling in my gut that he is up to something and I would rather be proactive rather than wait for him to unleash some kind of fresh hell on us. But I just can't help but to think that JC showing up wasn't an accident. He is here for a reason with Lily in tow and it has something to do with Gold. Now, can I have my milk back?"
David slid my glass of milk back in front of me so that I could finally dunk my cookie. "So when do you plan on leaving?"
"Tomorrow, after I pick Henry up from school?" I was already working my plan out in my head.
"Emma, I don't think that it is a good idea to take him with you…"
"I'm not," I waved off my mother's protest. "But I promised him some one on one time tomorrow and intend to not break that promise."
They both nodded in agreement, but David spoke up with the next burning question. "What item are you going to take with you to get back into Storybrooke?"
"Oh…ummm…" That was a small tidbit that I hadn't thought about, mainly because I didn't think that getting back into town would be an issue for me. But I quickly turned to scan the apartment for something important enough to Storybrooke that it would allow my passage back into town.
"This…" I turned toward my mother's voice and saw her pulling at her finger. "My ring."
She grabbed for my hand and slid her wedding ring onto my finger. "No…Mom…I can't…this is your wedding ring."
"And you are my daughter. Both of which better be returned to me in one piece. Do I make myself clear?"
Yeah. She made herself perfectly clear. I gave her a small but tender smile. I left my milk and cookie to give them a hug. As I leaned into my mother, I felt my father wrap his strong arms around the both of us. He moved his right hand to cradle my head like he would always do. He planted a soft kiss to the side of my head before he whispered a concerned, "be careful."
"Always am," I whispered back before I retreated to my room to prepare for my trip and go to bed. "Thanks guys."