Chapter 7 Kangaroo Court
Snow and Charming were sitting on a bench outside of the courtroom waiting for the custody proceedings to begin. They were holding hands, as they seemed to do a lot lately. They still had a hard time believing that they were really free of the curse and able to be together.
"Hello, James." They heard a stern voice say. Charming flinched and Snow held onto his hand even tighter.
They both looked up to see King George standing over them.
"Do not call me that," Charming said through gritted teeth. "James was my brother, who I never knew existed before you sacrificed him in your quest for power and riches."
"Strong words from a man who allowed me to be devoured by a dragon."
"I tried to save you." He said sadly.
"Clearly, you survived unharmed," Snow pointed out. "I guess you were too bitter for the dragon."
"Ah, Snow White, the woman who took an amnesia potion rather than fight for the man she claimed to love." He laughed bitterly.
"You threated to kill him if I did not bend to your will!" She pointed out.
"You continue to kill him every day by poisoning his heart." George fumed.
"You know nothing about us," Snow rose to her feet and stood directly in front of the one-time ruler.
"You are a king without a kingdom George and that makes you pathetic. You have no power over us." She smiled and exchanged a loving look with her husband.
"You forget, I am the one who will decide Henry's future." He smirked
"Technically, that isn't true," Came a small voice behind them.
They all three turned to see Archie Hopper standing in the hallway.
"Ever since the Hansel and Gretel incident occurred Storybrooke has had a Child Welfare Council in place to decide custody issues of minor children."
Clearly, this was the first the King had heard of such a board.
"You will make recommendations today, but the board will decide Henry's living arrangements." Archie continued.
Snow and Charming gave him a smile of thanksgiving.
"You two had better get into the court room if you want to get good seats, the place packed." Archie suggested.
The two did not even give George a second look as they walked hand in hand into the court room.
Indeed, the courtroom was full. It was to be their first battle since the curse had been broken and all of their friends had shown up in support. However, Red had saved them seats in the front row directly behind the table where Emma would sit with Henry.
Emma and Henry entered a few minutes later and took their places at the table. Snow gave her daughter an encouraging smile. Regina followed a few minutes later. Glared at Emma and took a seat at her table.
Order was called and the judge called the first witness, who turned out to be Dr. Whale. Snow and Charming exchanged a worried look.
"Did you know he was testifying?" She asked her husband in a hushed tone.
"I had no idea. I hope he does not hold a grudge." He answered worried.
They turned their attention back to the front of the court room where the doctor had already been sworn in and was starting to answer questions.
"Dr. Whale, you recently treated the minor child Henry Mills. Can you describe what occurred at the time?" The judge asked.
"Yes your honor. Henry was brought into the emergency room unconscious. Ms. Swan was convinced that he had been poisoned." Dr. Whale answered.
"Ms. Swan is seeking custody of the child because she believes that his legal mother tried to poison him." King George was reading from a form and he chuckled softly.
"I object!" Emma stood up and forcefully declared. "I do not believe that Regina was trying to poison Henry, she was trying to poison me with an apple turnover. He ate the poison pastry instead. " She seethed.
The judge/former king turned to Dr. Whale and asked, "Was it your professional opinion at the time that the boy had indeed ingested a neurotoxin?" There was an evil gleam in his eyes.
"No, your honor. There was no indication that he had been poisoned." The doctor admitted.
"What do you think occurred that day?" Dr. Whale was asked.
"My professional opinion is that the boy was faking his illness." Dr. Whale calmly stated.
That was more than Emma could handle. She stood up again and banged her hands on the table. She did not realize it, but it was a gesture her father employed when he was perturbed.
"How can you say that?" She asked in anger. "He nearly died. He flat lined! How could he have been faking?" Emma was about to lose her temper.
"Sit down Ms. Swan or I will have you removed!" The Judge vowed.
Snow's heart broke for her daughter. She was finding out the hard way what it meant to challenge Regina.
The judge turned back to the witness and asked, "In your professional opinion, doctor, is Henry in any danger from his legal mother?"
"No!" The doctor answered with authority. He smirked at Snow and Charming when he said the words.
Before Emma could object, the judge dismissed the witness. As he walked by Snow and Charming he leered.
"Now do you think that he is trying to get back at us?" Snow whispered.
"I do not know anymore. Maybe he just does not like to lose?" Charming shrugged.
"I wish I could hug Emma and Henry right now." Snow sighed.
"I know the feeling." He stated under his breath. Instead, he gave his wife a hug.
George had called next witness, Archie Hopper.
"Dr. Hopper, can you state the nature of your relationship with Henry Mills?"
"I have been his therapist for 2 years." He proudly admitted.
"Then the boy is deeply disturbed?"
Emma was about to stand up again, but Archie gave her a look that made her sit down again.
"No, he believed that everyone in Storybrooke was a fairytale character who had his or her memory erased. It turns out he was right." He shrugged and the entire court room erupted in laughter.
The judge banged his gavel. "Order!" he demanded. He turned back to the witness.
"In the 2 years that you treated the boy did you at any time feel that he was in danger because of his legal mother?"
"I do believe that Regina loves him in her own way, as much as she is capable of love, I do not think that she would put him in direct danger." He stated hesitantly.
Snow's jaw dropped in shock. She could understand how Dr. Whale might side with Regina in order to stick it to her and Charming, but she thought that Archie cared more about Henry. It sounded like he was supporting Regina. Judging from the gleeful sneer on the face of her stepmother, Regina believed it as well.
"Then it is your professional opinion that Henry should stay with his legal mother Regina Mills?" The judge asked.
Archie hesitated for a least half a minute before he replied. "No, I think he could benefit greatly from time spent with his natural mother."
Regina's face registered genuine anger. Snow and Charming let out a sigh of relief.
"If Ms. Swan wanted a relationship with the boy maybe she should have reconsidered giving him away when he was an infant!" The judge said forcefully.
That was more than Charming could stand. He stood up and addressed the judge directly in a angry voice.
"That is rich coming from a man who could not have any children of his own and had to steal an heir, not once but twice!"
"Sit down Son or I will hold you in contempt of court and have you thrown in jail without any hope of ever seeing the light of day again."
"Once a bully always a bully!" Snow stood in support of her husband.
"Maybe I will throw her in jail!" He gave Snow an angry look. "After all I never closed that attempted murder case concerning Mrs. Nolan."
Now it was Emma who stood up. "Sidney Glass confessed to that, you can't hold that over her head." She turned to her parents, "I know you guys are trying to help, but making him mad is only going to make things harder on Henry." She gave them a pleading look.
The judge turned to her. "You gave up you right to be involved in your son's life when you gave him away over 10 years ago. I am recommending that the minor child Henry Mills remain in the custody of his legal mother Regina Mills. These proceedings are adjourned."
He stood up and left without even dismissing Archie from the stand. The only one happy was Regina.
Everyone filed out of the courtroom just stunned. Henry was still clinging to Emma. Snow gave her daughter a hug. There were no words to convey how heartbroken she was for her daughter and grandson.
Charming turned to Archie and asked, "How soon can the Child Welfare Council meet?"
"As soon as possible! This afternoon in fact. Henry will not be in her clutches for long." Archie promised.
Regina came out of the court room and marched right over to Snow. Even though she was given temporary custody, she was still angry.
"If you think that I am going to let you take away another person I love, you are sadly mistaken. I will make you pay." She practically hissed at her once upon a time stepdaughter.
Snow was caught completely off guard took a step back.
In less than an instant Charming was standing behind Regina.
"Back off, Regina. Otherwise, sleep with one eye open. Because tonight while you sleep I will cut your heart out the way you threatened to cut out Snow's all those years ago." It was a whisper.
Emma clearly heard it because her jaw dropped.
"This is your finally warning." He vowed
"I want this man arrested. He just threatened me." Regina protested.
"I didn't hear anything that sounded like a threat," Emma shrugged.
"Are you going to wait until he murders me in my bed?" Regina asked with anger in her voice.
"Or the middle of the street, which ever works." Emma gave her a serious look.
"The last time I checked it was against the law to threaten the mayor." Regina insisted
"I doubt you could find 12 people in this town who would be willing to convict me." Charming shrugged innocently.
She turned to Archie Hopper.
"You promised me that you would support me in a custody battle."
"No, the Archie Hopper who was imprisoned because of the curse made that promise and he is gone for good. The Child Welfare Council will meet this afternoon and you will be informed of our decision madam mayor.
Regina turned to Henry, "Come on Henry, we are going home!"
"Don't make me go with her!" Henry pleaded desperately.
"It will only be for a little while." Emma promised.
He ran to his grandparents and gave them each a hug and then gave Emma a lingering one as well. Emma watched him leave sadly.
"Would hot chocolate with cinnamon from Granny's help?" Charming put a reassuring hand on his daughter's shoulder.
She nodded her head in the affirmative.
"Good because I am so hungry I could eat one of the Three Little Pigs!" Snow exclaimed.
"Disgusting, would you actually do that?" Emma asked
"No," Charming admitted. "We would never eat any animal that wore clothes. I am going to stop by the city clerk's office and try and find out who owns the cabin by the lake. I will meet you two at the diner."
Snow was torn because she was curious about the ownership of the cabin, but she also wanted to be with their daughter.
This did not go unnoticed by Emma who over the past year had learned to recognize when her roommate was torn. Especially, when it came to matters concerning the man standing in front of them at the moment
"You two go ahead and check on the cabin. I know you are both anxious to buy it and start remodeling. I will meet you both at the diner." She informed her parents casually.
"Are you sure you do not need me to come with you?" Snow asked her daughter with concern in her voice.
"I am just going to wait for you at the diner. Half the town will probably be there and it will take you 20 minutes tops. It is not like you are abandoning me for 28 years." The instant the words slipped from her mouth Emma regretted them.
The color drained from Snow's face and guilt washed over the face of Charming.
"I'll come with you!" Snow told her daughter while trying to seem cheerful.
"I can check on the cabin another day! We will go to Granny's together" Charming agreed.
Emma took a deep breath, "I am not used to censoring what I say to people. Maybe that is something I am going to have to work harder on. I didn't mean anything by what I said and I would really like to spend a few minutes alone to clear my head."
"Are you sure?" Her father asked.
"Positive, in fact why don't you tell me what you want to eat and I will put in the order and the food will be ready when you get to Granny's?"
"You can order me a grilled cheese." Charming stated with certainty. "David never ordered grilled cheese and I just love it. Something else the curse took away from me."
"Let me guess, you want it with tomatoes?" Emma asked.
"How did you know?" He frowned in concentration.
"Because that is how I like my grilled cheese." She shrugged.
Snow gave them a fake pout.
"I am so jealous! You two are so much alike. You are just sword welding, dragon slaying, grilled cheese eating maniacs!"
"Yeah, but she got her badass side from you!" Charming stated with a smile.
Emma gave them a stilted look, "Yeah, whatever. What do you want to eat?" She asked her roommate/mother.
Snow titled her head and thought for a moment. "A double Granny burger with cheese, chili cheese fries and chocolate malt with double syrup."
Emma gave her a wide eyed look that was nearly mimicked by her father.
"I guess we don't just battle dragons, we feed them as well?" Emma asked.
"I told you I was hungry." She informed them innocently. "Battles always make my hungry. Especially when they involve my former stepmother and your not-father ." She turned to her husband.
"Take her away before she decides to order more!" Emma told her father.
Snow just shrugged and took her husband's hand.
Emma was right nearly half the town was at the diner. There was only one table left, the one that her parents had christened a week earlier. Emma took a seat at the counter.
Ruby came over and put a reassuring hand on Emma's hand.
"I am sorry that things went so badly in court today. I am sure that everything will be alright in the end. Would you like to order?"
"Thanks Ruby," Emma was uncomfortable calling the townspeople by any other name than the ones by which she had known them for nearly a year. "Let me have two grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes, two hot chocolates with cinnamon, a double granny with cheese, an order of chili cheese fries and chocolate malt with double syrup."
Ruby looked down at the order in shock, "Emma, I know you had a tough day, but drowning your sorrows in food is not the answer!"
"The grilled cheese sandwiches are for me and David, the rest is for Mary Margaret. Is this some kind of post curse thing? Because I lived with her for nearly a year and she ate like a bird. Now, she has been eating like a dragon.
Ruby thought for a moment.
"I lived with her too for a while, she was a light eater. Except for…" Her voice trailed off as realization set in. "Oh, except for the last 9 months before the curse came. Then she pretty much became a dragon. It might have been the one time in your mother and father's lives together that I was actually afraid he might leave her. "
The truth dawned on Emma. 9 months before her birth!
"Tell me you are joking?" Emma pleaded.
Ruby just shrugged innocently.
"I am nearly 29 years old. My mother cannot be pregnant! It is not normal." Emma exclaimed.
Snow and Charming had been wandering around in the court house looking for the records room for what seemed to be hours, it was actually less than 30 minutes.
"Who would have thought that this court house was so big?" Snow sat down on a nearby bench. "I am dead tired."
"Reminds me a little of the enchanted woods where I was stuck when I was trying to find you." He kissed the top of her forehead.
"All we need now is for Rumpelstiltskin to appear from around the corner and give us an enchanted deed." She sighed.
He pulled her to her feet. "It must be around the next corner."
They rounded the next corner and found the records department. The clerk assured them that the records could be printed off from the computer system and they were soon staring in shock.
"The cabin belongs to David Nolan." Charming whispered.
"Regina gave you a cabin?" Snow was stunned. "I guess we no longer have to worry about the purchasing it from the owner."
"I don't think Regina did this, it seems more like something the Blue Fairy would have done." He still seemed puzzled.
"It does not make up for the fact that they lied to us about the wardrobe." Snow answered with anger in her voice.
"Agreed, both you and Emma should have gone through the wardrobe." He stated simply.
A perturbed look crossed her face. "Maybe I would have sent you through with Emma, Charming!" She snapped.
"She needed her mother." He said softly.
"Only you would have been in a coma for 28 years, not missing me and more importantly not aging. I would have been 28 years older than you. I would have been middle age!" She sobbed. "No wonder you wanted to send me with Emma. You wanted to stay young and dump me the moment the curse was broken."
She had sat down on the bench again and tears streamed down her face. He sat beside her and tried to put his arms around her but she pulled away.
"No, I never want to leave you. I would never leave you. My love for you is ageless; I would not care if you were 28 years older than I."
She stood up and looked at him with eyes as cold as steel. "What about when I was pregnant with Emma? You wanted to leave me then, don't deny it!" She snapped coldly
Her words hit him like a shock wave. Pain was etched on his face and he sat down on the bench because he no longer had the strength to stand. He thought that they had put that terrible time behind them and moved on. He had always believed that it was something they could laugh about. How young and naive they had been. How running a kingdom, being newly married and finding out they were going to be parents for the first time had hit them like a ton of bricks all at once. Add a looming curse and even the most epic lovers might find themselves blindsided and lose their way for the briefest moment.
Aside from the past year when they had been living under the curse, he had only lost faith in her one other time and he always felt as if he had paid dearly for that breach of conviction.
He always believed the important thing was that they quickly found their way back to each other. That his faith in her had been restored. That their love had overcome all adversity, as it always did.
Evidently, his wife did not share his view. She clearly felt that after all this time the incident was still open for discussion.