Double trouble
A/N: Wow! Thanks for the awesome response to last chapter. Love you guys! I had the day off today so I thought I'd gift you with an early chapter. Seems like everyone's pretty keen to see the reaction to the kiss... Enjoy!
"I desire no future that will break the ties of the past."
― George Eliot
Chapter 4 'Houdini'
Em was laying full-length on top of Ri pressing her knee between the girl's legs and she moved her hand inside Ri's pyjama shirt as they kissed deeply. Neither of them noticed Emma and Regina being there.
Emma turned on the lights and grabbed Em's arm pulling her off the other girl. Ri sat up in shock and Em started protesting and fighting against Emma like a wildcat.
"What is your problem, jerk?" yelled Em, trying to shake off the strong grip on her arm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" lectured Emma angrily. "You can't just go through life taking whatever you want."
Mary Margaret and David came downstairs from the top bedroom looking sleepy and rumpled. David stifled a yawn and Mary Margaret frowned at the scene taking place in her living room.
"What's all the yelling?" said David.
"What are Em and Regina doing back here?" said Mary Margaret. "It's the middle of the night."
"Em ran away. We caught her and Ri together..." Emma started to explain with a 'you know what' gesture.
"That was my first kiss. It was lovely," said Ri, blushing prettily and holding her fingertips to her lips.
Emma put her face into her palms. "They were making out."
At the adults' horrified expressions Em rolled her eyes. "Hey, old people, would you just chill out? What's the big deal?"
Emma turned serious on her younger self. "The big deal, Em, is that you took advantage of that young girl. She didn't know what she was doing."
"She does now." Em winked.
Ri looked crestfallen. "What have I done? I don't understand. Am I not a maiden anymore? Mother says such girls are bad and never get married."
"We didn't get that far, I swear," cried Em. "I didn't do THAT to her!"
"She's going to kill me!" Ri panicked.
Mary Margaret rushed to put her arms around Ri since she was becoming really upset. "No no honey, that didn't happen. I'll explain it to you later ok?"
"Mary Margaret, you can't mess with the past-" David warned.
Mary Margaret's eyes hardened at her husband. "You know what's about to happen in her life don't you? I am not letting her face that knowing absolutely nothing, David, that's cruel."
"Wait. What's about to happen in her world...?" Em glanced shrewdly at Regina's stony-masked face. "She's about to get married isn't she. No. I can't stand the thought of some rich old dude putting his filthy hands all over her and inside her and just- no! This is disgusting!"
Em reached for Ri's hand and promised her. "I won't let that happen. I can get us out of here. Trust me. I'm like Houdini."
David frowned at the phrase Em had used once before, a thought suddenly occurred to him as they tried to sort out this mess.
"Em, how'd you get into the apartment? The doors are locked from inside and all the windows were closed. We're not even at ground level... how did she get out of your house, Regina, was there anything broken?"
Regina shook her head. "No, I locked up..."
Realisation dawned on Mary Margaret's face as well. "And she got out of the jail easily as well. She got all the way to the town line where she found Ri. How, Em?"
"I dunno," Em said evasively.
"You must know. How did you get in here?" David asked again, emphasizing the words.
"I- don't- know," insisted Em. "I just need to get in somewhere and I do."
Emma sighed and explained reluctantly in a monotone voice. "She's using magic, she just doesn't know it. That why she can take what she wants and then get away with it so easily. That's why she can find anyone she's looking for. I've always been able to make things happen but I didn't realise I was doing it. There was only once when I couldn't get myself out."
"I had to see Ri," said Em, gripping the other girl's hand tightly. "I wanted to see her. She's mine."
Emma glared at her younger self. "She's not yours. You shouldn't have done this and you know it."
"Oh yeah, hypocrite? And what were you doing with Regina in your bedroom just now?"
"Not what was happening out here."
"Good," said Em harshly. "Cos you don't deserve her anyway. You treat her like crap and you won't even let her see her son."
"Is that what she told you?" Emma glared at Regina.
"It's the truth," said Regina, with as much venom as she could put into the words.
They locked their gazes on to each other, neither willing to back down from the staring contest until a new voice arrived to interrupt the tense silence. Henry came out of the bedroom he shared with Emma, rubbing his eyes like he'd just woken up.
"Why is everyone yelling?" said Henry anxiously. "What are you doing here, Mom? You're not supposed to be here."
"God you are such a little shit," said Em nastily. "You don't even know what you've got! If I had a Mom I wouldn't treat her like you treat yours."
Being spoken to like that by his 'mother' had Henry almost in tears so Emma grabbed him to comfort him straight away. He pointed to Mary Margaret and David and spoke in a wobbly voice.
"But you do have a Mom, Em. Mary Margaret is your Mom. And that's your Dad, David."
"No way." Em scoffed in disbelief and thumbed at Emma. "They're the same age as her!"
"It's true, Em," Mary Margaret said in a soft voice.
"Magic screwed everything up," said David. "Time got frozen for a while."
Em looked at Regina for confirmation, the only one she trusted enough not to lie about this right now.
Regina nodded sorrowfully. "It is true. I cast the magic that made this happen."
Em raised her chin and regarded David and Mary Margaret defiantly. She paced in front of them like a cougar in a cage, appraising them like they were prey and examining their every feature closely for the first time. These hypocrite cops were her parents? The ones who had abandoned her at birth, leaving her on the side of a road as if she was worth nothing to anyone? They didn't appear to be crack addicts, or dirt-poor, or mental cases... in fact they appeared normal, or better than normal. There didn't seem to be any legitimate reason immediately apparent for tossing her away.
"So why'd you give me up? Didn't I fit into your perfect life?"
"No!" Mary Margaret denied it with wide eyes. "Em, that wasn't it at all. It was because of the curse, Re-"
"I don't care what it was," Em interrupted in a steely voice. "It should've been nothing. There's no reason to ever give up a kid. I would never do that. Not for any reason. Nothing could be more important than being together. But I'm a bad kid and you wouldn't want me anyway so as if it matters."
Mary Margaret held out to her hands to Em's face but the teen flinched and moved out of reach.
"Em, we loved you. We had to give you up to save you. It was the worst thing I ever had to do-" said Mary Margaret, fighting tears.
"I wish I'd never been born," said Em cruelly.
Emma grabbed Em's arm and wrenched her around to face her angrily. "Wake up to yourself! You think your life's bad now? Everything's about to get worse, I promise you that. There's others even worse off than you. So you'd better suck it up and stop feeling so sorry for yourself. Cos you're gonna need to be strong for what's coming."
"Then I'm not going back and you can't make me! I hate my life," Em yelled.
Tears formed in Em's eyes and they darted around the room as if she were looking for an escape. But Emma recognised the signs and wrapped her arms around the teen before she could try to run.
"Emma, don't!" said Regina hastily.
Em cried out in pain from the rough handling on her sensitive back from the gravel rash and dropped to the floor crying. At the same time Regina threw out her arm and magically tossed Emma away. The others were all stunned seeing her fly across the room to crash into the wall.
Regina moved to block the others' view of Em and held up her hand letting it glow magically.
"Do not touch her again."
Shaking in fear Ri stepped up to her older self. She looked tiny and impossibly young standing there in her Snoopy pyjamas. She was clearly terrified by the show of magic, even if it was done in name of protecting Em.
"Why are you doing this? You're just like her," said Ri.
"Grow up," said Regina coldly.
"But why are you like this? I don't want to be you. I don't want magic."
"It will not be your choice," said Regina grimly. "Others will force you onto this path, believe me."
"For crying out loud, Regina, you're still trying to convince us you had no choice in all this?" said David incredulously.
Emma got up off the floor, breathing hard with anger. "Look. We are going to figure this out. The girls are going to have to go back to where they came from. If they're from the past and we change things it could affect everything that happens. Everything could unravel one thread at a time."
"I don't want to go back," sobbed Em thickly. "Today was the best day of my life. I don't wanna lose Ri!"
That thought was pretty upsetting - the homeless girl had been dumped in a strange place and arrested twice but because she'd met a friend and received some small kindnesses in the form of a meal and some clothes ... this ordinary nothing-much day was the best one of her entire life?
"I have to go back too I suppose?" said Ri sadly. "It sounds like there must be something bad about to happen to me... but I'm glad I met Em first. I think I could endure anything if I knew I'd see her again one day."
"Please trust me, princess. I will find you." Em cupped her hands around Ri's face.
Ri nodded. "Don't ever change. I like you already."
"Hey, Romeo and Juliet!" said Emma sarcastically. "Your tragic teenage romance isn't over yet. The only place you two are going right now is to bed."
"Separately," added David firmly.
Regina swirled her arm in circular motions and all of Mary Margaret's furniture flew upwards and stuck upside down to the ceiling as if glued there by mistake. She conjured three single beds in the living room obviously intending them to be for herself, Em, and Ri.
But Emma had other ideas, she shook her head at Regina and pointed to her own bedroom.
"Uh uh. You cannot be trusted either. You are sleeping in there with Henry."
"But Emma-" Henry started to protest.
Regina waved her arm again and her son's bed from home appeared next to the others, not that there was much room left in the apartment now. Without looking at any of them, she stalked away to her assigned bedroom and shut the door.
Em and Ri went for beds next to each other but Emma intercepted her younger self and shoved her to the other one.
"No way," said Emma firmly. "I'm in the middle one."
Mary Margaret and David had already gone back upstairs so Emma tucked Henry in and shut off the lights before taking to her own bed so they could all get a few more hours sleep before morning.
"Psst princess!" whispered Em.
"Yes?" Ri whispered back.
"Sweet dreams. Don't let the bed bugs bite."
"I won't," Ri giggled softly. "Sweet dreams to you too."
Emma rolled her eyes even though they couldn't see in the dark, supremely annoyed at the ping-pong lovey-dovey conversation she was now in the middle of.
"Dream of me?" said Em.
Before Ri could answer, Emma butted in. "Would you girls shut up? You're sickening."
Em gave up any attempt at being quiet and spoke at her normal volume. "Well, sorr-ee Sheriff Crankypants, but I think you're just jealous."
"I am not jealous."
"Ha ha! You totally are. I saw you checking her out. You can't keep your eyes off Regina's -"
A loud banging came from the upstairs bedroom. "Everyone shut up and GO TO SLEEP!"