Double Trouble 49
A/N: Hi lovely readers! Bit of a delay with this one because I've been busy with stuff and I got a new job offer :). Thanks for reading. Enjoy.
Chapter 49 'Role model'
Sheriff's Station
Ri was bored.
She and Em were still considered to be sources of potential trouble during the day, so the teenagers had been given the option of "assisting" at whichever of the adults' workplaces that they chose. This time Ri jumped in first to go with Emma and David so that Em wouldn't get the idea of getting herself into anything even remotely dangerous.
Surprisingly Em had gone with her mother to the school. Ri suspected that it was because Em didn't want to disturb Regina (who was very busy with her re-election) and also because she wanted to be near Henry.
Emma was out on a call and David was doing work on the computer. He'd given Ri some filing to do, which she must've finished too quickly because he then spent the next two hours giving her whatever random task he could think of. None of it was very taxing so she spent the whole time thinking about Em and Henry. Both of the Henry's actually.
The baby, she sighed.
It was so amazing what Em was doing, though the poor girl had been having a hard time of it so far. After what happened the day of the car accident Ri had asked Em to show her how to use her phone. She looked up some pregnancy information on it and now had a bit more of an idea what to expect, but it was still hard for Ri to see her girlfriend sick. There was also a bit of stress on them both by having to keep it a secret from the others. Ri was running interference for Em these days to give her one less thing to worry about.
Ri was trying to be supportive and to make sure Em was ok, but it didn't seem like she would ever be able to do enough. She'd been raised thinking that it would be her that had the babies eventually, it was strange to be involved yet she wasn't the one carrying the child. She felt useless and left out. There was only so much she could do to help. She wanted to do something for Em to show her how special and beautiful she was… but what?
Ri sidled up to the Deputy's desk and ran her finger around the edge like she was checking for dust. "Daaaavid?"
He answered in the same drawn out tone. "Yeeees?"
"Can I have some monies?"
"Sure. Do you want to go to the diner and get a drink?" David got out his wallet and fished out a few small bills and offered them to her.
"Mm, that won't be enough."
David looked at her suspiciously. "How much do you want?"
"Fifty maybe?"
"Why do you need that much?"
"Um well, I need..." Ri suddenly got an idea. "Girly things! Lots of them. I forgot to bring any with me today. You know, the women in this world are lucky to have those cotton products for their monthly flowering. It's so convenient. Although, I don't think my mother would be very happy about the little inside-wearing ones in case they jeopardised my maidenhood. Too late for that I suppose! Mary Margaret said I might've been broken already anyway because lots of girls are without even knowing it but-"
"Ri." David said weakly. "H-here. Take it all. Please, go and buy whatever you need." He shoved a bunch of green paper bills into her hand.
"Thankyou, Daddy-in-law!" Ri smiled sweetly at him and left with her fortune.
Storybrooke Elementary
Em was tired.
Oh, she was so very very tired. She had been helping out with Miss Blanchard's class for half a day and she was already feeling worn out. Of course part of that was from her condition. But mostly it was because kids were EXHAUSTING. They never stopped! Like, ever. The fourth-graders were making some technology projects that morning and there were a lot of excited faces in the room. They flitted from table to table for supplies, chattering to each other and squealing and generally causing chaos. Where did they get their energy from?
Em wasn't fond of children as a rule after her time in the foster system. But the schoolkids were fond of her. Especially when they realised that 'Miss Swan' could easily be persuaded to join them in making a mess and being naughty. She completely ignored the assignment instructions and instead of assembling her robot properly it had two heads, mad racing stripes, and red pencils sticking out of its eyes like lasers. It wasn't long before the entire class's robots were sporting similarly creative deformities.
Mary Margaret didn't seem to mind. She had the patience of a saint and the children adored her. How did she do this all day every day? How did parents do this?
It made Em wonder not for the first time what it would've been like growing up having Mary Margaret as a mother. It would've been great, she realised with a pang. Though she was still saddened by missing out on having her parents when she was growing up, Em could hardly believe she was getting the chance to be around them now. Her whole life she would have given anything for a single minute with them, so the many weeks in Storybrooke seemed like a surfeit of everything she'd ever wished for. She knew she'd acted like a little shit when she first met them, but now she was trying to make up for lost time.
There was so much of it though.
It was lunchtime now. Em had eaten her lunch with Mary Margaret in the teachers' lounge. The other teachers gave her funny looks at first but after her mother explained the situation they were friendly to the teenager (which was absolutely bizarre for Em since teachers usually hated her on sight, or rather, as soon as she opened her smart mouth). Mary Margaret had to go to playground duty halfway through lunch and the other adults were being boring sitting around drinking tea and doing crossword puzzles.
Em decided to go with her mother and get some fresh air.
She spied Henry sitting by himself on one of the playground benches and went over. She hadn't seen him all morning. He wasn't in Miss Blanchard's class anymore since he'd been moved up to the fifth grade. Perhaps he'd be able to make some friends now that all of the other children had started aging along with him.
"Hey kid!"
Henry smiled happily in surprise. "Em! Yay, you're here."
"Watcha doin' sitting out here by yourself huh?"
Henry shrugged. "Nothing much."
"Why don't you go ask those boys if you can play the game with them?"
"Nah."
Em nodded over to where a group of girls about Henry's age were sitting around in a circle with their dolls. "So which one is the girl you like? The one you saved from the douchey older boy who tried to molest her. What did you say your girl's name was?"
"Jenna," Henry mumbled. "The one with the two plaits."
"Aww." Em took one look at the girl and pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. "She is really cute! I approve. Dude, you gotta go over there and talk to her before someone else snaps her up."
"No!" Henry looked horrified.
"Ok. Then I'm going to go and tell her how awesome you are."
"Em, you can't!"
She laughed. "Just kidding. Like I'd do that while she's surrounded by that platoon of girls. We're going to decide on a plan of attack to get her to notice you. I'll be your wingman. Ok, listen up. Operation Jenry will deploy two officers into the playground region in order to initiate a relationship between one lovelorn bratty-yet-awesome eleven year old boy and the girl with the red ribbons who has apparently failed to notice his existence so far. Move out, boys!"
Em's plan was a little over-the-top but it certainly did get Jenna's attention and also the attention of every student and teacher on the playground.
She found a discarded tennis ball laying on the ground and started up a game with Henry. They took it in turns to pelt the ball as hard as they could against the brick wall of the school buildings that surrounded the playground. The object of the game was to try to hit each other on the rebound. She and Henry were already sporting some bruises on their legs and arms from where the ball smacked into them, but that was part of the fun.
"Ha! You missed me, kid," said Em as she dodged.
"I'll get you next time!" said Henry. He chased after the ball so that he could take another shot.
When the other kids realised what they were playing they came over to join in and soon half the playground was involved. What Em didn't know (and wouldn't have cared about even if she did) was that this particular game had been banned at school for being too dangerous. There was a high probability of someone ending up crying and hurt. It never ended well.
Today no-one got injured, but the game stopped abruptly when the ball smashed through one of the glass windows with a loud crash. Unfortunately it was the room where Principal Gander was at the time. A hush fell over the playground.
"I demand to know who did this!" Gander called out the broken window. She went away for a few minutes and then reappeared outside. Everyone saw her enter the playground at a march, looking for the culprit.
"You're in trouble, kid," said Em.
"Me?" cried Henry. "You threw it!"
"Oh shit," said Em under her breath. "What if the Goose sees me and realises it wasn't Emma the other night when we broke in to her office? Surely she's not stupid enough to fall for it twice. Leroy could lose his job over covering for us. I'll get arrested… by myself. Emma will hit the roof. You'll get expelled. Regina will kill us both and Ri will help."
"Oh shit," said Henry.
"Don't swear, H."
"But you swear!"
"Fair enough. Don't swear in front of Regina though. Either of them."
Principal Gander was nearing the crowd of kids. "Which of you is responsible for my broken window? Speak up! Admit your crime!"
All of the kids pointed at Em like the traitor brats they were. "It was her. It was her!"
Em didn't wait around to be yelled at. She bolted out of the playground as fast as she could before Gander got too close. Hopefully the principal's eyesight wasn't as sharp as her vitriol.
The kids laughed. They were cheering at the thought of someone being brave enough to defy their strict principal. As soon as the teacher presence was gone from the playground, the kids regarded Henry in a more admirable light. He'd started the banned game with that teenager and didn't even care about getting in trouble!
Out of the corner of his eye Henry saw that Jenna was looking in his direction. He stood up straighter, trying to look tall and sporty and cool. A couple of boys came over to Henry. They were identical and it was hard to tell them apart, except that one of them was holding a basketball and the other had a bright red plaster cast on his forearm.
"Hey, Mills. You wanna play?"
Sheriff's Station
Emma and David were sitting around eating donuts and both of them had their boots propped up on their desks. It was lunchtime and there wasn't much crime-fighting to do. They were discussing various topics including their significant others, the teenagers, Henry, and the weird happenings in Storybrooke lately.
"Any news on the border stuff?" said David.
Emma shook her head and swallowed her bite of donut. "Yerh. Not really. I found a page missing in Cora's book of curses though. Regina reckons it's a Barrier spell similar to the one preventing people from leaving the town."
"That can't be a coincidence."
"I know. Someone's been messing around with magic and it's affecting the town line. Someone who had access to where Regina was keeping the book."
"Well, there's always Mr Gold. He's the usual suspect for these kind of things but I doubt he'd need a book for anything magical. The Blue Fairy has magic of course, but she doesn't usually involve herself in human affairs until things are dire. I hate to say it but apart from you and Regina that only leaves one person-"
"Henry." Emma finished with a nod. "Yeah, I think he's up to something, but I don't know why he would do this. He wouldn't want everyone to lose their fairytale memories again, he spent the better part of a year trying to get everyone to remember. Regina won't even entertain the idea of him being involved. Every time I've tried to bring it up with her she shuts me down and says 'I'll handle it, Emma. I'll talk to him' but she never does. Her emotions get in the way of her judgment when it comes to Henry."
David shrugged. "She's his mother. She doesn't want to believe that her child could have anything to do with dark magic. She's trying to protect him."
"I hope that's the only reason she's covering for him," Emma said under her breath.
"What do you mean?"
"If I stop thinking like her girlfriend and more like the Sheriff, it seems like Regina has the most to gain from the border shrinking. Someone who loves her enough might see that too. I did, I offered to let the border shrink so that she could start over but she refused. Maybe Henry had the same idea I had and he took it upon himself to give her a fresh start without the burden of her past hanging over her head."
"You think he did it for her? He wanted to give her a clean state?"
"Maybe. But you know what the worst part is? Regina didn't even need that to get her second chance. She's changing things for herself anyway, people are really getting behind her with this election stuff. She doesn't see it, but I do. She didn't need everyone to forget, she only needed them to forgive."
"So do you have a plan for what to do next?" asked David.
Before they could continue the conversation they heard the slap of Converse-clad feet on lino. Em came into the office puffing like she'd been running across town. She hopped up and sat on the desk near David right on top of the paperwork.
"Hey, losers!" Em greeted them with her usual boisterous manner. "Ooh give me a donut. I'm starving. I need some sugar." She snagged a pink one out of the box and then proceeded to eat her way through two others.
"What are you doing here?" said David. "I thought you were with Mary Margaret today."
Em's mouth was full of donut. "Yerh, there was a change of plan. I kinda got expelled."
Emma snorted. "Only you could get expelled from school when you're not even enrolled. What'd you do?"
"Does your mother know where you are?" said David.
Em shrugged. "She might've seen me fleeing from the Principal. I broke a window. Totally an innocent accident. I texted Mom on my way here to say I wasn't coming back after lunch. Hey, where's Ri?"
"She went to the shops," said David.
The Emma's shared a knowing look. "Shopping," they said in unison. "Of course."
"Such a little Regina isn't she?" said Emma.
"Alright, I'm going to go see if I can find her," said Em. She hopped off the desk and dusted off her sticky hands. "Dad, can I have some money?"
"I don't have any on me. I gave it all to Ri. She needed to buy… " David lowered his voice to a sepulchral whisper. "Feminine products."
Emma raised an eyebrow. "You gave her the rent money? Mary Margaret is going to be pissed at you. Seriously, David, how can you not know how much things cost? We currently have five women in the family, if tampons cost hundreds of dollars you'd be flat broke."
"I am anyway! My daughter and her girlfriend are teenage girls and every day my wife gets suckered into buying them new shoes or dresses. Of course I'm broke." David growled and tossed his empty wallet on the desk.
Emma pulled out a few bills and gave them to Em. "Here, go find Ri and get a hot chocolate. I know how difficult it is but try to stay out of trouble for the rest of the day. If you can manage it."
It wasn't that long ago that Ri had gotten herself lost in Main Street, but she knew her way around now and was confident that she could find what she was looking for without help. She felt a tiny bit guilty about manipulating David out of so much money. But it was for Em! Her girlfriend was definitely worth it. Ri intended to look around every store in the street until she found something that would make Em smile.
She knew it as soon as she laid eyes on it. The perfect gift. Now she just had to wait for the perfect moment to give it to her. The store owner smiled at her knowingly as she completed the sale and handed Ri the small bag containing her purchase.
As soon as Ri left the shop she felt a pair of hands cover her eyes. She gasped and someone behind her said, "Guess who!"
"Em," she laughed and turned around. "As if I didn't know."
"Yep, it's the one and only Em Swan. There's two of me in town these days but obviously I'm the original and the best."
"What are you doing here?" said Ri. "I thought you were teaching today."
"I was. The kids liked my lesson. The Goose wasn't too fond of it though, she chased me out of the school. I taught Henry how to pick up."
"How to pick up what?"
"Girls. Specifically, the one he has a crush on."
"Which girl is this?" demanded Ri. "Is she from a good family? If they've offered their daughter for an alliance already they could be trying to position themselves closer to Royalty for ambition's sake. Such deals are made and easily broken. As are hearts."
Em giggled and looped her arm through Ri's elbow as they walked down the street. "Calm your farm, Ri. They're eleven. Henry is a book nerd and Jenna is a karate nerd. It's not like they're getting married or anything dumb like that."
"You think marriage is dumb?"
"Um no," Em said hastily. "Of course not. It's just - you know, not everything revolves around getting a piece of paper right? "
Ri paused before the question that now had her worried. "So you don't ever want to do it?"
"Well," Em shrugged and scuffed her shoe on the ground. "When I was growing up it wasn't even legal in most places for people like us so I didn't ever think I'd be able to anyway. I never really thought about it before. Maybe if the right person was involved. Like you. I just don't think it's necessary. Love is enough for me."
It was times like these when Ri was reminded that she and Em were from completely different worlds. She had grown up being taught that the goal of her life was to make a good marriage connection. Her future was defined by that one thing that she didn't even get to choose it for herself. It determined how she lived her life, how she dressed and walked and talked, and which interests she was allowed to pursue. It defined everything about her (according to her mother).
To hear Em dismiss marriage as so unnecessary that she'd never even considered it was jarring. She didn't seem completely against the idea though, and that was a relief. Perhaps it was old-fashioned and idealistic of her but Ri still wished to marry for love. In fact, there was only one person she would ever want to marry...
"What are you hiding, Ri?" Em said suspiciously. "What's in the bag? Did you buy something? Let me see."
"Uh-uh, no." Ri held the little bag up in the air out of reach. "This is for later."
"Later schmater." Em made a grab for it but came up empty.
Ri grinned. She held up her two empty hands and twinkled her fingers. "Oh dear. Where did it go? It's disappeared."
"Magic?" Em shrieked. "You sneak! You didn't tell me you could do that. You've got magic now? Since when."
"The first time I felt it was also the day we you-know-what for the first time."
"That was an orgasm, Ri. A little one, based on the ones you've had since we've been practicing-"
"Not that!" Ri dropped her voice to a whisper. "Shh, we're in the middle of the street. I meant, after the car accident. I felt magic gathering in my hands."
"I know," Em raised her eyebrows twice. "That was the day I felt magic in my hands too."
"Oohfff you!" Ri growled and shoved her in the shoulder. "Em. Be serious for five minutes, please. I thought you were badly hurt and I was angry that I might've lost you. It scared me. I don't understand why this is happening. How did I get magic? Why now?"
"Well, my magic has been playing up recently too. It was always unreliable but it's different now. Maybe you stole it from me or our magic kinda mingled together or something? Or maybe it's your own and it's making itself known to you. Because you'll need it soon."
"Yes," said Ri, suddenly sad. "I'll need it to do the terrible things I did."
"Hey, come on. We have a deal. No obsessing about the past and getting all sadfaced about it ok? No regrets."
Ri nodded. "Very well, I suppose you are right. I could never regret Henry and he's tied to the rest of it. Speaking of the baby, how are you feeling today?"
"Pretty good." Em grinned. She took off running and called behind her. "Race you to the park, Ri!"
"I don't run, remember!" Ri called out. She smiled and picked up her pace anyway.
Storybrooke Elementary
That afternoon Regina was waiting outside the school gates for Henry as she had done hundreds of times over. She was not prepared for what she encountered on this particular occasion however.
Usually Henry came out of the gates by himself, trailing behind groups of other kids who were running around or pushing each other playfully. She knew he didn't have any friends but neither did she know how to help him. When he was little he hadn't understood why only he moved up in grade but the jig was most certainly up long before he received the book of fairytales from Miss Blanchard. He was growing up and the others weren't. There was no point to making friends.
He knew things weren't right. He knew something was odd about Storybrooke, even though he'd known no other place in his life. Nothing ever changed here.
He felt the difference between himself and the other children.
When she adopted him it hadn't occurred to her that her child wouldn't automatically be on her side, that he'd question her authority one day. She'd been almost deluded to think that he wouldn't notice, or perhaps she'd thought that it wouldn't matter even if he did figure it out. By then surely he'd love her enough to blindly accept whatever she'd done?
The pieces started to fit together and so Regina had forced herself to lie to her own son. He said she made him feel crazy, like she didn't know who he really was. That wasn't true. She knew him so well. And he knew her.
That was the trick. Having a child means that the child has you too. He was so like Emma sometimes. Henry loved Regina, but he was still willing to call her out for her actions and stand up to her. They were the only two who ever did. The only two who could make her see what she was doing and take pause.
They were the mirror she looked into to find herself.
But even though Regina knew her son better than anyone she'd ever known she almost didn't recognise her bookish incorrigible boy when he spilled out of the gates that afternoon with all of the others.
Henry was laughing with two blond boys. They were a little older than him and constantly roughhousing it seemed. Her son's uniform was filthy and even from this distance she could see his face was patchy with dirt- wait, was his shirt torn? What on earth? What'd happened to her son? She'd sent her little boy off to school that morning and he'd come back as… as some sort of pre-teenager!
She'd spent all afternoon preparing herself for the conversation that had to be had, she was intending to talk to him about magic - hers and his - and to warn him away from the path she'd taken in her own youth. But seeing him so happy and with friends made her reconsider. The talk could wait. She was loathe to spoil things for him.
"Henry, over here," she called.
One of the boys clapped Henry on the back before they left. "See ya, Mills. Saturday?"
"Yeah, cool." Henry grinned. "See ya."
When her son joined her Regina tried to be more casual than curious as she asked him. "Who are your new friends, Henry?"
"Oh that's Jason and Jackson Meadows. They're twins. Jason is the one with the cast. I think. They asked me to go to a basketball game with them on Saturday. Can I go, Mom, please?"
His face was so pleading that she would not have had the heart to say no. "Yes, Henry, you may go."
"Awesome! Thanks, Mom, but next time when you come to get me from school don't wait right at the gate ok? I'm not five. I can find my way to the car by myself."
Regina felt her eyes tear up before she could hide it. He was growing up so fast. It was slightly terrifying that he'd be a real teenager in a few short years. It was surreal. It felt like only yesterday that her sweet little baby boy had been placed in her arms for the first time. Where had the time gone?
Henry must've noticed that she looked like she was going to envelop him in a huge embarrassing hug and he shrank back. "Mom, not here," he complained.
"No-no!" Regina smiled too-brightly and shook her head. "Of course not, dear. I understand that you're becoming a young man who wants some independence and it's not very on trend to be seen with your parents anymore. Things are changing and you've got all these new feelings. It might not seem like it but I do remember what it's like growing up. It's an exciting time."
"Moooom. Please stop."
"That reminds me. I need to take you to get some new school pants. You must've grown several inches since last year."
Henry sighed. "You were cooler when you were evil. Shopping is stupid."
"You sound like your mother. You both make out as if I'm torturing you instead of trying to buy you presentable clothes. Shall we go see her at the station afterwards and convince her to take an early mark? I'm sure it won't take much convincing."
"Yeah! Cool. Let's go see Emma."
Regina smiled and frowned at the same time. "Why is it that Emma is cool and I'm not?"
"Because you're my Mom and Emma is Emma."
They were about to leave when a middle-aged blonde woman came up to them accompanied by the twin boys Henry had just been with and another little girl who was likely their younger sister. She had her hair in two plaits tied with red ribbons and was following her mother, walking with carefully controlled posture like she had the discipline of a dancer.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty?" the woman said.
"That title is no longer necessary," Regina said shortly. "Mayor or Ms Mills will do fine."
"Forgive me." The woman seemed flustered. "I meant no offense. My name is Janet Meadows. I'm sure you don't remember us - why would you - but my husband was one of your elite Royal guards in the other world."
'Was'? Regina thought with a sinking feeling. Had she killed this woman's husband herself or sent him to his death? It was entirely possible that she had and didn't even remember. The conversation could have gotten uncomfortable very fast, but Janet must've realised how her introduction sounded and rushed to clarify.
"Oh, he's still alive! Sorry, that sounded strange didn't it. Richard Meadows is his name here. He has his own personal training business. These are our children:" Janet pointed to each of them in turn as she introduced them, beginning with the tall twin boys next to her. "This is Jason and that's Jackson-"
"Mom, I'm Jason," the teen interrupted.
"You are who I say you are," said Janet primly. She then placed her hand on the little girl's blonde head. "And this is my daughter Jenna."
"You have a lovely family," said Regina. "Henry was just telling me about your sons."
"Yes, me too. The boys told me they want to take Henry to basketball with them on Saturday. That's why I thought I'd come over to introduce myself. I like to meet the parents of my children's friends."
The twins had been shoving each other in turns the whole time and now it had escalated to a punch. One of them bolted away laughing as the other took chase past the throng of students waiting for their buses or parents.
"Hey!" Janet yelled after them. "Jason. Jackson. Whichever one you are. No punching. Get back here!"
But the boys were gone. Janet turned back to Regina to explain with a single word. "Teenagers. Ever since they turned thirteen it's been nothing but monosyllable grunts and eye-rolls. Luckily I still have my little girl and my sanity. Jenna has just moved up to fifth grade for the first time, isn't that right, sweetie? She tells me Henry is the smartest in the class and that he stood up to that horrid Ethan Gander who was always bullying the girls. You must be very proud of having such a good-hearted boy."
Regina smiled and resisted putting her arm around Henry's shoulders as she was wont to do. "Indeed, his mother and I are very proud of our son."
"Your partner is a woman?"
"Yes," Regina said stiffly. "Her name is Sheriff Emma Swan. Is there some problem?"
"No! Of course not. I had heard... well, actually that was part of the reason I wanted to talk to you. My sister has a nineteen year old daughter. She's been heartbroken for a few months and we think it's over a girl and that she's afraid to tell anyone the truth. I thought that perhaps you or the Sheriff might do us the favour of talking to her? It would help her so much to have a role model. I mean, she does have Uncle Mike and Peter who just came out publicly. They were together in secret in the other land for twenty years and they've only been able to be open about it to non-family members recently. Mike said that 'if the Queen could risk everything for love then we ought to be able to as well'. But I thought it might help Jessica if she had a woman to talk to, someone she could relate to. She seemed a little more hopeful than usual when we all heard the rumours and the idea that two prominent women could be brave enough to be out in the open. There are others in Storybrooke but everybody's had to be so discreet until now. You're quite the hero in our family, Ms Mills."
"Regina," she cleared her throat. "Call me Regina."
The mayor dug into her purse for a small card and handed it to Janet. "My wife runs the teen center on Second St, it's called KidSpace. She's there every Thursday. I think Emma would be the best one for Jessica to talk to at first."
Janet smiled gratefully. "Thankyou! Regina, you have no idea how much this means to us. I'll tell my sister to ask Jess. I'll give you a call later about organising Saturday as well. I was wondering if Henry might like to come back to our house after the game? The boys will be there with their cousins and Jenna too, after I pick her up from karate."
"That'd be awesome!" said Henry. "Thanks, Mrs Meadows. Mom, can I?"
"That's fine with me," said Regina. "Janet, are you sure you don't mind looking after an extra child? It seems like you'll have your hands full already."
Janet laughed. "Oh, don't worry about that. It's no trouble. Our house is like Grand Central Station on weekends. Jenna will be the only girl among the older kids though. They've tried being gentle with her when they play but she won't have a bar of it. She can give as good as she gets. Can't you, Jen-Jen?"
"Mom, don't call me that in front of other people," Jenna complained. "Sensei says that to misuse my skill is to bring dishonour upon myself. I do not fight except as a last resort. I'm dangerous."
"I di-din't know you did karate, Jenna," said Henry.
"I'm training to become one of Her Majesty's Elite Royal guards one day. Like my father was." Jenna glanced up at Regina.
Janet sighed indulgently. "I don't think Regina needs guards anymore, sweetie. We're in Storybrooke now, remember?"
"And so are the Queen's enemies, mother," said Jenna seriously.
"Good point, daughter, but I doubt an eleven-year-old yellow belt meets the requirements for the Elite Royal guard yet."
The little girl said to Regina, "Very well. I'll train hard and apply to you in a few years then."
"I'd be honoured to consider you, Jenna," said Regina, trying to maintain her queenly dignity and not smile at the adorable girl. "I'm sure you are dedicated to your art. I'm impressed."
Jenna's serious composure broke for a few seconds and the eleven-year-old girl peeked through. She jumped on her toes causing her blonde plaits to swing and her face was overtaken by excitement. Then she realised she'd betrayed her cool exterior and was suddenly shy and red-faced.
"I'd better rally my troops," said Janet. "I've got to drop the boys off to my husband before I take Jenna to the dojo."
Regina and Janet exchanged phone numbers and pleasant goodbyes. When the two Meadowses went to leave the little girl looked back and waved to the Millses.
"Bye, Henry. See you in class."
"Bye, Jenna!"
Henry just about skipped to the car as Regina looked on in amusement. It seemed her son had his first crush. As soon as they were in the car Henry let her hug him and then asked to borrow her phone so that he could send a text to Em. As they drove away Regina asked him what he was talking to Emma's younger version about but he avoided the question.
When Henry laughed at one of Em's messages Regina asked, "What's so funny?"
"It's Classified," said Henry. "You don't have security clearance. By the way, do you realise you called Emma your 'wife' when you were talking to Mrs Meadows?"
"What? No I didn't."
"Yeah you did, Mom."
He turned back to the phone and typed:
Em, guess what happened? Jenna knows my name and I'm going to her house on Saturday. MISSION SUCCESS!