I'm sorry it's been a minute! I'll try my best to finish up the last couple chapters over the next few weeks.
After the encouraging words from her husband and mother, Emma managed to hold her head high as she walked over to the table. She still felt a little dizzy, but Killian's gentle hand on her back kept her balanced. She was relieved to see that the seats either side of her were free for Snow and Killian. Emma shot her mother a grateful smile, certain she was responsible for the seating arrangement.
Emma eyed the added height of her chair from the cushion David had placed there earlier and wondered how on earth she was going to get up there without falling on her ass again. Seeing her dilemma, Snow swiftly grabbed her under the arms and lifted her onto the seat before her stubborn daughter could attempt to climb up. A little annoyed but determined not to show her embarassment, Emma forced herself to look her mother in the eye as she thanked her.
Before Emma could so much as open her mouth to ask Regina to pass the potatoes, she found her plate being filled by her mother and her pirate. She wanted to complain, but she knew it would be a slow process if she'd tried to reach for everything herself. Zelena even reached over and plopped a generous helping of her favourite baked mac and cheese in front of her, which Emma knew was her way of apologising for her earlier teasing.
Upon seeing the mound of pasta, Regina raised her brow at her sister. "You do realise her stomach is probably the size of an apricot right now? There is no way in hell she can eat all that."
A collective groan sounded from Snow, David and Killian while Henry grinned at his tiny mother. They all knew exactly what was about to happen even without looking at the telltale twinkle in Emma's eyes.
"Was that a challenge?"
Regina snorted. "No, but we can make it one. Stakes?"
Emma thought for a moment, then grinned. "Lunch all week, bought and delivered to work."
"Okay, but if I win, I don't want a pile of grease from Granny's. You're going to that new Italian restaurant and getting me something nice. And you only pass the challenge if you have room for dessert after and keep everything down."
"Not a problem."
Regina grinned back and held out her hand. "You're on, Short Stuff."
As they sealed the deal with a handshake, David turned from feeding Neal in the high chair next to him to fix his daughter with a mildly frustrated look. "Emma, do you really think that's a good idea after the wine?"
Emma just turned her grin on him and said with complete confidence, "Don't worry, Dad. I got this."
Since it was clear that Emma wasn't going to back down, the conversation turned to the usual catching up as they ate. Regina bragged about Henry's score on his math exam, and David and Emma shared a funny story involving a raccoon and a paranoid old woman who kept calling the sheriff's station for help. Emma showed no signs of slowing down as the pile of food on her plate shrunk. Regina's expression grew more concerned while everyone else's grew more impressed, until finally Emma swallowed her last mouthful.
Sending a smug look at Regina, Emma asked, "So what's for dessert?"
Henry laughed and reached across the table to give his mum a proud high five, which only made Emma more vindicated. The adults, however, were all genuinely confused about where the food could have possibly gone in Emma's tiny body.
Snow stared at her daughter's belly, wondering how it wasn't bloated. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? I'm not even sure how that's physically possible."
"Yep, I'm fine." Emma grinned.
Regina finally asked, bewildered, "What did you do, digest it before you finished eating?"
"Pretty much. I had a super fast metabolism when I was a kid."
Regina squinted her eyes. "I'm not conceding defeat until you keep down your dessert."
Much to Regina's dismay, Emma easily polished off an adult-sized helping of apple pie and ice cream. Henry and Snow chose to forgo the apple pie, of course. The whole family had burst out laughing when Zelena proudly uncovered the still-warm dessert she had made earlier using her sister's recipe. After a brief moment of confusion, Zelena at least had the grace to look a little embarrassed at the realisation of what she'd done, and let out a quiet "my bad".
The tiny, adorable burp that escaped Emma's mouth upon cleaning off her plate was the only sign of any discomfort from the outrageous amount of food she'd put away. At Henry's exclamation of 'awww!', she blushed and looked down at her lap with a soft, "Excuse me".
David laughed. "That's a compliment to the chef. You're getting pretty handy in the kitchen, Zelena. That was amazing."
"Yes, love, that was quite delightful." Killian agreed.
Zelena beamed. "Regina's a great teacher." She then sent an apologetic look to Henry and Snow. "Next time I'll make blueberry."
Regina and Emma were too busy having a stare-off to compliment the dessert ‐ Regina searching Emma's face for any signs that she was beginning to feel ill, and Emma waiting for Regina to give up and realise that she was feeling just fine.
A long moment later, Regina let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine! You win, Swan."
"Damn right! That'll teach you to doubt me." Emma yelled.
Regina scoffed. "I'm not sure overeating is an achievement to be proud of."
"It is when you were wrong and I was right!" Emma stuck out her tongue.
Snow cut in with a laugh before Regina could make a retort back. "Okay, children, that's enough! If everyone's finished I'll clear the table."
Emma looked Regina straight in the eye. "I could go another piece of pie, actually."
Snow raised her eyebrow at her daughter and took the pie away from her reaching hands. "Okay, you've proven your point, missy. You can stop now."
"Fiiiine," Emma rolled her eyes dramatically.
Snow bit back a laugh and shared a knowing look with David. He'd realised the same thing she had - their daughter was hopped up on sugar.
And if the rest of the table hadn't noticed, they did when Emma suddenly exclaimed, "Hey! Let's play skip-bo! I still owe you a rematch, Henry!" and jumped down off her chair with a thud to go get the cards.
"Emma, careful! Unless you want to break your tiny legs!" Killian called after her.
With that, the family broke up into their various after-dinner activities. Killian joined the two enthusiastic children in the living room for a game of cards, David got Neal ready for bed, and Regina helped Snow clean up. Zelena took Robin home to bed after quietly wishing the adults good luck in dealing with the hyperactive four- or- five- year- old.
After finishing the last of the dishes, Snow and Regina had settled back at the table with a second glass of wine.
"She's just so cute, I mean look at her!" Snow whispered to Regina, looking wistfully at her daughter. Emma was triumphantly raising her fists in the air and bragging loudly about her win, while Killian and Henry were looking rather amused.
"I have to admit, she is pretty adorable," Regina chuckled in response.
A dismayed call of, "I can hear you guys!", followed by snorting laughter from Killian and Henry, made the women exchange a guilty smile.
"Sorry," Snow chuckled to Emma, who was approaching the table with a frown, and promptly changed the subject. "I was thinking we could continue our 'movies- from- our- missing- year' marathon, if you like?"
"Sure," Emma responded, but she still looked unimpressed.
"Do you mind if we go home, Mom?" Henry asked Regina. At her surprised expression, he explained, "Violet's taking me riding in the morning. I want to make sure I'm well-rested."
"Of course, we can't have you tired while trying to impress your girlfriend," Regina smiled teasingly.
Emma made Henry crouch down so she could hug him properly before they left, giving him a kiss on the head and ruffling his hair for good measure. "See you later, kid."
"You too, kid," Henry grinned back. Then he quickly headed for the door before she could react.
A couple of hours later, Emma was valiantly fighting to keep her eyes from fluttering closed before the movie ended. I'm not a child, I can make it fifteen more minutes, she thought stubbornly. But only a few minutes before the credits started rolling, Killian felt a small head thunk against his side.
"She finally crashed," Killian smirked.
It hadn't escaped any of their notice that Emma had come down from her sugar rush and was fading quickly throughout the movie. She had even abandoned her hot cocoa as she focused on her struggle against sleep.
"It's impressive she lasted this long," David laughed softly.
Snow smiled lovingly down at her daughter. It was so bittersweet seeing her like this, as the little girl she never got to meet. She wanted nothing more than to gather her up into her arms and shower her with all of the affection she should've received twenty- five years ago.
"Why don't you guys stay here tonight? She can't very well be on her own while you and David are at the station tomorrow. This way she can stay with me in the morning and you can catch a lift in with David," Snow suggested, not taking her eyes off Emma for a second.
"Not that I mind a bit of driving around, if you'd rather go home," David put in quickly.
Since Emma couldn't drive at the moment on account of her significantly shorter limbs and stature, David had offered to drive them both home and pick Killian up for his shift in the morning. But Snow had a point, Emma couldn't be alone in that state, which meant David would also have to bring Emma back to the loft in the morning. Of course, it was fairly obvious that wasn't Snow's only motivation for suggesting they stay over, but Killian couldn't fault her for wanting to be close to her daughter.
"Not at all, that sounds fine," Killian smiled gratefully at his in-laws. "I best get this little cherub to bed."
Killian easily swept Emma up and carried her up the stairs to her old room. She was completely passed out and didn't stir, even when he carefully peeled back the covers and placed her into bed. He tucked her in with a soft kiss to her forehead. "Good night, love," he whispered.