A/N: sorry for the delays my lovely readers. I worked thirty hours this weekend and am now back teaching full-time as well, so if this chapter is non-sensical, that would be why! Also, there's a very important A/N at the bottom of this …
"You know you don't have to go to work today if you're not feeling up to it. Mal said you could take as long as you like, right?" Regina said as she put on her heels and fluffed her hair.
"I know but I want to keep busy. I can always leave when James calls and be at the courthouse within half an hour," Emma replied from her position still snuggled beneath the duvet.
It was Monday morning and Regina was getting ready to leave for work and dropping Henry off at nursery. She had insisted the blonde stay in bed and rest and if she had her way, Emma wouldn't be working until the trial verdict was delivered. But Regina knew better than to try and force her girlfriend to stay put. The only reason Emma was still in bed was because Regina had served her breakfast there. She was trying hard not to think about the toast crumbs now doubtless lurking on her sheets.
"I'll be there as soon as I can too," Regina assured. "I don't have many meetings scheduled this week and Mary Margaret is aware that I might disappear at any moment. The court is only a few blocks from the office."
"Do you think they'll come back with a verdict today?" The hope in Emma's voice was unmistakable. She wanted, needed, the jury's decision so she could begin to … move on with her life? To be honest, Emma wasn't quite sure what would happen after twelve strangers decided whether Killian Jones had really tried to rape her. Something would change, right? She wouldn't keep feeling like a victim forever, would she?
"Hard to say," Regina admitted. "They'll all have had the weekend to independently think over their positions and hopefully that will offer them some clarity. We're just waiting now to see whether they're too divided to be able to reach a unanimous verdict."
Emma nodded her understanding and rolled onto her back, staring up at the white ceiling above her and thinking. Less than a minute later, the bed dipped beside her and Regina's face appeared overhead. She smiled down at the blonde and bent to kiss her lips softly.
"I love you," Regina murmured as she pulled away. "Call me if you need anything."
Emma was glad she had gone to work when she arrived that afternoon. Mal and Ursula were busy sorting through sheafs of paperwork as five new children were due to start the youth centre and her two colleagues needed Emma's help. Feeling needed distracted the blonde from her churning thoughts and kept her from going crazy thinking about what the jury could possibly be discussing.
"A new foster family just moved into the area," Mal explained as she handed Emma some files to read through. "The mother seemed really nice and she's keen to get her eldest kids here every day because she's going to be kept busy with the younger ones."
"How many kids has the family got?" Emma asked. Foster families were often large but a couple rarely took on more than half a dozen at once.
"Seven I think," Mal replied. "Three girls and two boys will be joining us today. The mom is coming down with them and making sure they settle in ok. One of the boys is close in age to Felix so I'm hoping they'll get on well. Would you mind introducing them?"
Felix had undeniably made progress since Emma arrived at the centre but he was still introverted and shy when it came to the other children. He spent most of his time with Emma, despite the blonde trying to encourage his friendship with those is own age. When interacting with other children, Felix struggled to maintain eye contact and rarely spoke, even when asked a direct question. Although he had a long way to go, Emma was just pleased Felix was still at the centre and hadn't followed in his older brother's footsteps and ended up on the streets.
Emma spent the rest of her time before the children arrived reading up on the new kids, their histories in the system, their likes and dislikes, and considering ways in which the centre could best help them. Despite ending up in the system, Emma could tell these children had one thing on their side; foster parents who cared. When Ashley Boyd arrived at the youth centre that afternoon, she was far younger than Emma expected. Her long blonde hair was scraped back into a pony tail, a toddler was balanced on her hip and a little boy clutched her hand nervously. She introduced her older children and then chatted to Ursula about one of the girl's allergy to peanuts. Emma watched as the new children meandered into the room and looked around. Felix watched too, peering out from behind Emma.
"Hi, you must be Mathew," Emma said as a dark haired boy passed her.
"Yes," came the meek reply.
Although Mathew's file said he was twelve, like Felix, he was rather small for his age, also like Felix. His dark hair contrasted starkly to his pale face but his eyes were a deep, rich brown and his lips twitched upwards into a smile as he glanced between Emma and Felix.
"Nice to meet you," Emma said. "I'm Emma and this," she reached behind her and tugged lightly on a skinny arm, "is Felix. You guys are the same age."
"Hi," said Mathew, with a nod of his head.
"Hi," Felix replied, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor.
Emma paused, waiting for something more but when nothing changed, she spoke again. "Felix, why don't you show Mathew that new card game we learnt a couple of weeks ago?" she suggested, knowing Felix loved playing cards when he had the upper hand, such as knowing the rules to a complicated game better.
"Ok," Felix nodded, turning and leading the way through the room to the small table where he and Emma often sat and played rummy or snap or beggar my neighbour. Mathew followed and Emma smiled, turning her attention to a younger sister of the new family who was running her finger over the spines of some books in the library corner.
"You like to read?" Emma asked Grace, crouching down beside the red-head and pulling out a book. "Let's go and sit on that cushion over there and we can find out what adventure Jack gets up to today!"
By Wednesday, even her work at the youth centre wasn't able to distract Emma from the stony silence from the court house. Every afternoon she had spoken to James who assured her everything was going to be ok. Regina too told her to stay positive but it was difficult. The length of time the jury was out told her that, at best, one of the jurors had serious doubts about her story. At worst, of course, eleven people doubted her. However many were holding out on making a decision, they didn't believe her. They didn't think she was telling the truth. They thought Killian Jones was innocent.
Emma had lost five games in a row playing cards with Mathew, his younger brother Terry, and Felix before Mal tapped her on the shoulder and beckoned her to follow. She dropped her cards and clambered to her feet, assuring the boys she'd be back in a bit. As she walked away, Felix gathered the cards and re-dealt, instructing his two new acquaintances that they were going to play a different game now. He might be bossy, Emma thought, but at least he's speaking.
"What's up?" Emma asked as she stepped into Mal's small office and closed the door.
"Telephone," Mal replied, handing out the landline to the blonde with a serious look on her face.
Wondering who would call the youth centre rather than her mobile, Emma took the receiver. As she did so, she patted her jeans and realising her cell phone wasn't there. Presumably that was why they were calling her directly at work. And somehow, Emma knew exactly who was on the other end of the phone.
"Hello?"
"Emma, it's James."
The young woman sank into a chair at the sound of his voice. She knew what he was about to say. Her heart beat faster in her chest and her palms suddenly felt sweaty. Wiping them on her jeans, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"They're back?"
"They're back," James confirmed. "Can you get down here now?"
Emma glanced up at Mal and raised an eyebrow in question. The older blonde nodded at once.
"Yeah," Emma said. "I should be there in twenty minutes."
"Do you want me to call Regina too?"
"No, I'll do it. Thanks," Emma said before hanging up the call and getting to her feet.
"Good luck," Mal called after her as she darted out of the office and towards the front door.
When Emma arrived in the courthouse, Regina was waiting for her, pacing back and forth on the top of the grand staircase. As soon as she saw the blonde, she rushed to her and hugged her tightly. Emma hugged her back, breathing in Regina's familiar, comforting scent. It was going to be ok. Whatever happened it was going to be ok because she had Regina.
They entered the packed courtroom together, James was already sat at his desk, as was Hades. The jury too were in position. Several of them glanced at Emma as she entered and then looked to where Killian was lounging beside his lawyer. Their expressions were unreadable. Regina and Emma sat down behind James, alongside the lead detective on the case. Seconds later, the arrival of the judge was announced and everyone fell silent.
Once more, legal jargon flew around the room and Emma understood very little. She didn't care, however, because she knew she would be aware when the time came for the jury to speak. When at last the representative of the twelve men and women was asked to stand, Emma's eyes snapped to him. He was a small man, his receding hairline, beady eyes, and paunchy stomach making him a rather unattractive person. Emma was staring only at his mouth, however, watching in almost slow motion as his lips moved, confirming that they had reached an unanimous verdict.
"Very well," the judge said, his voice sounding to Emma as if he was far, far away. "On the sole count of attempted rape, how do you find the defendant?"
Regina's fingers laced between Emma's and squeezed. Emma closed her eyes.
"We find the defendant guilty."
Emma's eyes snapped open, her jaw dropping as she stared at the jury, several of whom smiled slightly at her. Regina's fingers squeezed hers even tighter and James turned with a wide grin on his face. Stunned, Emma ignored the tears sliding down her cheeks and turned her face towards Killian.
She couldn't see him at first as Hades was leaning towards his, whispering rapidly in his client's ear. But when he sat back, Emma could see the previously cocky-looking man was ashen, his eyes nervous. As she watched, he glanced at her. Emma didn't look away until he did, at which point she turned her attention to the judge who was speaking.
"... thanks you for your service. You are free to go. And now the defendant may rise." Killian got to his feet, trying to stand tall and look somewhat distinguished. He failed in every respect. Emma thought he could see his balled fists trembling in fear. "Mr Jones you will remanded to Rikers where you will await sentences for the crime of which you have been found guilty. Court is dismissed."
The gavel struck and Regina threw her arms around Emma. The blonde hugged her back but she was watching as Killian was led out of the courtroom, not letting her gaze waver until he had disappeared. James appeared in her line of vision, his hand landing on her shoulder and squeezing.
"You did it," Emma said, smiling up at him through her tears.
"We did it," James corrected her. "That man is going away for a long, long time thanks to you and your bravery, Emma."
"And there's no way he can wriggle out of it?" Emma asked.
"He could appeal but I don't think he will," James replied. "He won't have any money for one."
"What do you mean?" Regina frowned. "His family could afford a thousand top quality defence attorneys."
"Jones Senior was at the back of the courtroom, and as soon as the guilty verdict was given, he disappeared. I suspect Killian has just been disowned and I think he knows it."
James looked pleased with himself but Emma wasn't sure how to feel. After all, no one deserved to lose their family. Not even someone like Killian Jones.
"Come on," Regina said, glancing around at the emptying courtroom. "Let's get out of here."
The crowds at the front of the courthouse were predictably large but James and Regina escorted Emma through the clamouring reporters quickly and bundled her into the town car, Graham speeding the two women away seconds later. Emma leaned back against the seat and let out a shuddering sigh, a fresh wave of tears cascading down her face. Regina said nothing, she just nestled into her girlfriend's side, placed a kiss on her wet cheek, and allowed Emma to feel and think every complex emotion coursing through her brain without interruption.
By the time they got to the apartment building, the tears had stopped falling and Emma was wiping her face with a tissue. Regina led the way into their penthouse and closed the door behind them. The silence inside was heavy, but with what, neither woman knew. Emma moved wordlessly through to the kitchen where she flicked on the kettle and began to get out items to make cups of tea. Regina sat at the island, watching.
"What now?" Emma asked as she placed a cup of tea in front of Regina five minutes later.
"What do you mean?"
"What do I do now? I mean, what am I meant to feel? Yes, Killian is going to go to prison. Yes, everyone knows what a scumbag he is. But what about me? What do I do?" Emma said, sitting heavily beside Regina and staring into the milky brown liquid of her own mug.
"You move forward with your life," Regina replied. "You leave what that bastard did to you in the past and you move on. You're free now, Emma. You're free of that man, of this trial, of everything that came with it."
"So I just forget?"
"No," Regina said. "You don't forget. No one is expecting you to forget what happened, Emma. But now you have justice, you can start to work through the trauma and come to terms with it. Do you … do you think want to talk to someone about what happened?"
"A shrink?" Emma asked, with a sceptical raise of an eyebrow.
"If you think it will help," Regina nodded. "Or me. Or you can deal with it on your own. However you want to do it, Emma, I'll support you."
Emma shrugged and said nothing. She sipped her tea and reached for a cookie to dip into the hot liquid. Munching for a while, she glanced at the clock.
"I know what I want."
"Anything," Regina said at once. "Name it."
"I want the two of us to go and pick Henry up from Zelena's. And then when we get back I want us to make those enchiladas we had a few months ago. And after I'm told Henry the best Marlo story ever, you and me are going to curl up on the couch and watch some silly chick flick. How does that sound?"
Regina's face split into a wide smile. "Perfect," she nodded. "That sounds perfect, my love."
A/N: ok, so I know I'm not going to be able to please everyone but I want to please the majority of you. Therefore, the decision as to how this storyline ends is now in your hands. Do you want Henry to be Emma's biological son or not? I have two perfectly plausible and equally happy storylines plotted out in my head and am more than happy to write either one. Therefore please review (fan fic) or comment (ao3) with either "Henry Swan" if you want Henry to be Emma's or "Unknown Swan" if you want her son to be someone else. You have 24 hours to vote and then I'll begin writing the next chapter in which I will start to steer towards whichever outcome has the most support. Thanks!