Author's Note: This took far longer then I expected it to. Ruby sort of decided to interject herself into the story unexpectedly. This is an Emma heavy chapter. said that when she prepares for Emma scenes she asks herself what a fourteen year old boy would do and that is where I went for this Emma too.

Funny story: Earlier this week in my Advanced Composition class the professor brought up fanfiction. I was actually working on this story when it came up. I had to rise up and defend fanfics when he said it was all about sex. This lead to the decision to base my upcoming comparitive media essay on Once.

Family, Adoption and Heteronormality: Once Upon A Time and Modern Family.

So you guys read this chapter, enjoy it (hopefully), review it (please!) and I'm going to go write an essay.

Chapter VI

Reunited

Everybody went to Granny's Diner. Literally everyone in Storybrooke. They came to eat, to gossip and to drink coffee in the morning, milkshakes in the afternoon and alcohol at night. Granny's hosted every party, formal or otherwise, and was the stage for plenty of scenes both good and bad. Ruby had personally witnessed fourteen break-ups, fifty-five first dates and countless fights. Twenty-eight years with the same people living in limbo together made for a special blend of drama. Maybe that's why she loved her job. It wasn't always the greatest and the schedule sort of took over her life, but she did genuinely enjoy her work. She enjoyed being at the crossroads of the town, being into everyone business and knowing exactly what was up.

Her job had allowed her to be one of the first people to meet the town's newest arrivals. Princess Aurora and her strong and silent guard dog Mulan had brought drama and big news back from the Old World with them. Everything about them stuck out and not for the first time, Ruby appreciated the knowledge the curse had bestowed on her. She knew what cars and cell phones and e-bay were. Everything about the newly arrived women reminded her of The Enchanted Forest. They smelled of magic, pine trees and roasted chimera. Scents she had thought she would never smell again, that she wasn't sure she wanted to smell again.

Aurora was dressed in the tattered remains of a gown, the princess sort of thing that the nobles pranced around in, and a crown. Girl needed a makeover, stat. She had offered last night when Granny had given the new arrivals each a room for the night, but Aurora had politely declined. Politely for a royal, that was. Ruby loved Snow and David, but had never felt at home in their world of riches and castles. They had always been kind and true friends, but most nobles were not. They thought they were better than all the so-called common folk. Aurora struck her as one of the spoiled princess types who would trip a servant just for looking at them in the eyes. Maybe she was wrong, she hoped she was. There had been something about the way the girl had declined her offer of clothes that set her inner wolf on edge. She, and her clothes, were equal to the princess here. There were no Kings and Queens in Storybrooke, just animal shelter workers, school teachers, mayors and waitresses.

Mulan had also declined the clothing, but she had also declined the room. She had settled down in front of Aurora's door and proceeded to clean and polish her sword and armor. Though her hands were busy, her eyes had been alert. She had kept guard duty over Aurora all night long. She had tried to, at least, Ruby had caught her uncomfortably dozing with her head leaned against the door frame, this morning when she'd left her room to open the diner. The woman's sword had still been in her hands. That was another thing Ruby liked about Storybrooke, there were no servants. Sure, she was a waitress and she served people, but she wasn't bound to anyone's service. She wasn't expected to stand guard all night. Not anymore.

With that in mind, she took the women's breakfast over to their booth. Neither woman had known what to order, so she brought pancakes for both of them and a large steaming cup of coffee for Mulan.

"What are these?"

Aurora eyed the plate with suspicion, her voice betrayed her confusion.

Mulan smirked, "Pancakes, they're good."

The warrior picked up the ceramic coffee mug and inhaled. Pleasure played across her face for a moment and she smiled a small, reserved, smile and nodded her head to Ruby, "Thank you."

The bells over the entry way jingled and Ruby turned, out of sheer habit, away from the princess and the warrior.

The newcomers were regulars, did Granny's ever get another kind of customer, and Ruby grinned.

"Steve, Lia, you want your usuals?" She walked back around the counter and started to prepare their drinks.

Steve was the owner and only agent at Storybrooke Insurance and he liked his coffee hot, black and very strong. Lia was the school principal and liked her latte with soy milk, no foam and fat and sugar free vanilla syrup.

Neither answered, and when something heavy, Lia's briefcase, clattered to the floor, Ruby looked over the espresso machine to see what was going on.

Lia Weathersby, sharply pressed and a little repressed with never a strand of sandy brown strand of hair out of place, stood in the middle of the diner with her hand over her mouth, blue eyes wide.

"Aurora?"

Emma walked to 108 Mifflin Street. She could have drove, would have loved to drive her precious car, but needed to extra time to think. Then again, maybe she had got used to walking everywhere during her time in the Land that Chevrolet Forgot. What was she supposed to say anyway?

Hey, so I heard you sucked up an evil spell so we wouldn't die. Any bad side-effects from that? Kay, thanks. It sounded weird. Of course it did, Emma kicked a pebble and scowled as it disappeared under one of the countless white picket fences that made up the residential area of Storybrooke. Her entire life sounded weird at this point. Just a handful of months ago if someone had told her this was how her life would be, she would have had them committed for psychiatric evaluation. Hell, sometimes she felt like she needed psychiatric help. Too bad the only head-shrinker in town was Jiminy-Freaking-Cricket. She wished she hadn't told Henry she'd do this. She should be at home, possibly enjoying another shower. Then she could go to the station and look at the mess David had made with her paperwork. God, Regina would be pissed when-only Regina wasn't the mayor anymore. Did Storybrooke even need a mayor? Didn't the curse take care of everything anyway?

Ugh! This was all too complicated for her. Need someone to run a quick Three Card Monte game, steal a car, or catch a bail-jumper, then Emma Swan was your woman. All this other stuff, fairy tales and politics and sharing a son with a wicked witch, was way out of her depth. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her clean blue jeans and let out a long sigh. This was her life, though. Storybrooke was home. Her family, as complicated as it was, lived here. She had friends here, and responsibilities. Emma Swan, runner extraordinaire, master of the no-strings-attached approach to life had roots.

She scuffed her boots along the sidewalk, slowing down the closer she got to her destination. Roots, Regina had told her that she needed roots. That seemed like so long ago, back before she knew that Henry's fairytales were true. Back when they were just two women fighting over their son. Like divorced gay moms, she snorted at the thought. Ellen Chaikin eat your heart out. Emma had to admit that she had enjoyed being the fun mom. Sneaking Henry candy and indulging him, hanging out. There hadn't been any actual parenting required. She'd got her first dose of being a mom this morning. Henry was not a morning person, at all. He definitely got that from her. He didn't want to go to school, he wanted to stay home and spend time with her. Then he had whined about the lunch money she'd given him. David always came to get him so they could eat at Granny's. After school they were going to the stable, somewhere she'd never been, so he could go horseback riding, something she'd never done. Then, he had told her, they could go to the big Welcome Home party at Granny's. Then they could finish watching The Avengers.

Emma rubbed at the sudden tension in her forehead. No mention of homework or chores. She was still the fun mom. Except she couldn't be the fun mom anymore, not if Henry lived with her. The Kid needed rules and boundaries and whatever else kids needed. He needed a mom that made him do chores and checked his homework. (She still struggled with math) He needed someone who knew how to cook (without breaking the toaster) and liked to clean and never threw red socks in with white shirts. (worst laundry day ever) He needed someone who knew what the hell a PTA was and why it was important (Emma was pretty sure it had something to do with bake sales of some sort) Basically, The Kid needed Regina. Emma sighed, The Evil Queen was a hard act to follow, and she was struggling.

This had been why she had given her son up for adoption in the first place, she knew little to nothing about being a parent. She couldn't give Henry a mansion, she lived in a loft apartment with her parents for God's sake. She was an inexperienced small town Sheriff in a place where freaking dragons lived under the library. Henry's curse had been true, and some days she wished the Kid had just had an overactive imagination. She might have been able to deal with becoming a mother to Henry, or finding her parents or the curse, but all three was a little daunting. Then there was the whole Regina issue. That was a whole other mess. A mess that had been running circles in her head since her shower last night.

She rubbed her chest again unconsciously. She had once demanded to know "How the Hell Regina got like this". This meaning an ice-cold, condescending and to hit the nail on the head, evil, bitch she was. She had gotten her answer in the Enchanted Forest. Cora was a monster, worse then Regina had ever dreamed of being. There was something in the elder Mills witch that put Emma on edge. Her internal lie-detector had gone haywire around Cora. There was something very wrong with her. That had been what the hell had happened to Regina, or at least part of it. She had a feeling that there were some important pieces missing from Henry's book.

That didn't mean she was ready to roll over and be Regina's bitch, though. The Evil Queen had plenty to answer for. Like the fact that she had a blood vendetta with Emma's entire family for one. She had also tried to kill Emma. Then there was the fact that she had gone out of her way to intimidate and bully Emma since the moment she had stepped into Storybrooke. Emma sighed at her complicated mess of thoughts. She had arrived, once again, at the carefully manicured front lawn of 108 Mifflin Street. The mansion overlooked the town like, well, a castle. It was appropriate, really, since Regina had spent 28 years toying with the people of Storybrooke like her own real-life version of The Sims.

Emma stared at the house, hands shoved in her pockets, and blew out a sigh. There was no time like the present, she supposed. The walkway from the sidewalk to Regina's door was familiar, and full of memories. This had been where she had met the woman for the first time. Regina had run to Henry, dark eyes wide with fear and relief. That night seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago. She jogged up the stairs and paused at the door, she paused with her fist ready to knock.

She was doing this for Henry.

She pounded on the door and waited for the Queen to open the door.

After two minutes she pounded again, annoyed by the woman's childish behavior. "Regina! I know you're in there!" Where else would she be?

She swung her fist again, as the door opened. She missed hitting the body in the doorway by inches.

"Shit!"

The woman at the door was not Regina, which was both a surprise and a relief.

She was tall, Emma put her at least an inch or two taller then Ruby. She had dusky brown skin and dark hair that was streaked through with white. Her clothes were a mish-mash of colors, textures, and styles from several eras and cultures. It was, Emma quickly realized, the woman's eyes that caught and held her attention. They were the most intense green she had ever seen. They were like lasers cutting into her, pinning her to a cardboard square like a bug. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her skin pebbled into goosbumps underneath her jacket.

This had to be the gypsy that everyone had been talking about.

"You're not Regina."

Smooth, Emma wanted to give herself an epic face-palm.

"I am not."

Emma couldn't place the accent, it sounded like nothing she'd ever heard in this or the other world.

"And who are you?"

The question jerked her out of her thoughts and she automatically held out her hand to shake. "I'm Emma-I mean Sheriff Swan. I mean I'm Emma Swan, the Sheriff of Storybrooke. Where's Regina?"

Emma Swan, master of public speaking.

The woman tilted her head to the side, as if considering her answer very carefully.

Emma slid her hand back into her pocket, and squared her shoulders, waiting.

"She is still asleep."

Emma blinked, the woman wasn't lying, but Emma had never thought Regina would sleep so late, it was almost eleven o'clock.

"Would you like to come inside and wait for her?"

Regina would not going to like that, which made Emma say nod her head.

The woman stepped back to make room for Emma to enter the mansion.

"I didn't get your name."

The gypsy woman quirked a scarred lip, "I am Esmeralda."

Emma assumed that it was just Esmeralda, like Cher, Madonna or Beyoncé. Fairytale people were so melodramatic.

They walked through Regina's immaculate house and Emma could tell they were going to the kitchen. Emma knew the way fairly well so she spent her time trying to align the facts in her head. This Esmeralda was a Gypsy, which was a group of people that were pretty unpopular back in the Ye Old Crazy Forest. She was somehow connected to Regina, The Evil Queen. If she were Henry that would be enough to put the woman into the dark and ominous evil category. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. Emma was having a hard time getting a reading on the woman. Emma pegged her to be in her late forties, maybe early fifties, but age was sort of relative in Storybrooke. She was tall, slender, and comfortable enough to be barefoot in the Mayor's mansion. She referred to Regina by her first name and answered the woman's door for her.

The kitchen was as clean, white and classy as ever. There was not a single dirty dish in the sink or a glass left on the counter. The room was perfect, like the cover photo of Fancy Ass Kitchen Magazine.

"I would offer you tea." Esmeralda stood by the stove, staring at it, "but I have no idea how to use this thing."

Emma tried not to laugh, she really did. The woman looked so flustered, though, that a small chuckle might have escaped her throat before she got herself under control.

"Yeah, Regina would be pissed if you blew up her kitchen."

The woman turned around, black brows arched, "This can happen?"

Emma's smile faded. She really didn't know. This woman was, literally, right off the boat from Fairy Tale Land. She didn't know a microwave from SpongeBob Square Pants.

"How about I make the tea and you can tell me how you wound up in Storybrooke."

Esmeralda smiled and stepped away from the stove, "An interrogation, Sheriff?" Her voice held a touch of humor.

Emma stood up and started to open Regina's meticulously ordered cabinents searching for a kettle, "A conversation. I just recently returned to Storybrooke myself and am just checking up on everything. Mulan and Aurora said you stole away on Hook's ship?"

Third cabinent to the left held the kettle and an honest to God tea set. There was also a silver ball with holes in it.

"What the hell is this thing?"

She mumbled the question to herself more then Esmeralda.

"A diffuser for the tea, bring it too. I have a tea blend with me."

Emma shrugged and grabbed the red, of course, kettle and the silver diffuser-thingy.

"I thought tea came from bags."

Esmeralda let out a distinct snort and then muttered something in a language that Emma didn't understand before adding, "Not any that I will ever drink."

Emma watched, somewhat intrigued, as Esemeralda brought a small cloth bag out of a leather satchel that had been sitting on the kitchen's center island. She watched the woman measure out the spicy mix of leaves and powder while she flipped Regina's stove eye on and sat the full kettle on to heat up. She retrieved two mugs, she was not using Regina's Queen of England tea set, and leaned against the counter.

"So about that boat?"

Esmeralda turned to look at her and sunk her hands into pockets that Emma hadn't even realized were there. It was such a Regina movement, how many times had she seen the woman slide her hands into her blazer pockets? Too many to count. Just who the hell was this woman?

"I knew Cora was coming here, and her portal was the only way that I could come too. I brought the warrior and the princess along because their path was similar to mine." She put the sack full of tea back in the leather satchel, "There are many paths that converge in this town."

Emma rubbed the back of her neck, "That's one way of putting it."

The kettle started to whistle and that brought a pause to the already stilted conversation.

Emma found herself with a white mug full of spiced tea in her hands and allot of questions she didn't know how to ask. Still, she had to ask them before another angry mob showed up on Regina's doorstep.

"So you've known Regina for a long time?"

The gypsy woman smiled behind her steaming cup of tea, "Yes."

Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes. Why had she thought this would be easy?

"And since you stole away on her ship, I assume you know Cora." She wasn't so sure the gypsy had really fooled Cora at all. Cora was smart, ruthless and was an expert manipulator. This could all be one big game.

Esmeralda's face darkened and her jade eyes went flat and cold. Her shoulders stiffened and she lowered her cup. "You will not say that witch's name in this home." Her accent was harsher and her voice was hot with unexpected fury.

Emma's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. Esmeralda was obviously not a Cora fan.

"Esmeralda?"

Both women turned to the door and Emma almost dropped her tea.

This was not the Regina Mills she knew.

The brunette was wrapped in a purple cloak. It was too long for her and dragged at her feet, like a child wearing a parent's coat. Regina looked tousled, rough around the edges. Her always perfect hair was tangled and sticking to makeup-up smeared cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy underneath streaks of black eyeliner and mascara. Underneath the cloak she was wearing the same clothes as she had been yesterday. They were wrinkled and Emma would swear that the other woman's blue shirt was ripped and missing buttons. Her feet were bare on the hardwood floor and Emma blinked in shock when she saw the Evil Queen had painted her toe nails bright electric blue.

"You made tea? I thought I heard voi-"

Regina turned the corner fully and stopped mid-word. The change was immediate, Regina drew herself up into the stiff, military perfect, posture she maintained as mayor. Her face lost all its softness, all emotion quickly dropped away. Her mouth twisted into a sour scowl.

"Miss Swan."

Even her voice, warm and content when she thought she had been talking to Esmeralda, now had an all too familiar rigidness to it. The warmth was replaced by ice.

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten to the proverbial punch by Esmeralda.

"Sit."

Emma watched, amazed, as the older woman put a hand on Regina's shoulders and sat her on one of the chairs around the table. Regina didn't even protest beyond scowling.

A third ceramic white mug full of tea was immediately placed in front of the seething brunette.

"Do you still take milk with your tea, Little One?"

Emma smirked as red started to tinge Regina's cheeks. Little One? Oh this was just too good.

If looks could kill, then Emma would be dead because Regina was glaring daggers at her.

"It's in the fridge-"At Esmeralda's blank look, Emma put her cup on the counter and walked to the refrigerator. She opened it up and chuckled at Esmeralda's gasp. If she was so impressed with the fridge, just wait until she used a toilet. A carton of half-and-half was sitting on a surprisingly bare shelf. She had always pegged Regina for one of those stock-the-pantry Moms, but whatever worked. Emma snagged it and grinned.

Regina was, apparently, on her best behavior with Esmeralda. She opened the crème and tilted the carton over Regina's mug. She even winked at the brunette. "Say when."

She poured the crème into the ex-mayor's tea with a smirk on her face. Regina held her cup so tightly that her knuckles were blanched white.

"When."

Emma stopped pouring and put the lid back on the crème. "You're welcome."

Regina only glared at her.

"Regina."

It was the same warning-tone that Emma had heard Regina use with Henry, firm but not unkind.

"Thank you, Miss Swan."

Apparently satisfied with Regina's all but growled response, Esmeralda pulled the chair beside Regina's out and sat in it. Emma followed suit and sat across from Regina. Regina glared across the table at her. Then she lifted her mug and took a sip of her tea. For a moment, Emma watched with awe, the stress dropped from her face and a small smile shot across the brunette's face.

"Miss Swan" Great, now Esmeralda was going to call her that too, "was just here to introduce herself."

Emma shrugged, "I thought I should come check on the Mayor. I heard reports that you collapsed yesterday and Henry was worried."

Regina's eyes lit up at the mention of her son. "He was worried about me?"

"I have heard much about Little Henry, but have yet to see him. Where is he?"

The spark in Regina's eyes retreated as quickly as it had arrived. Esmeralda's honest question had unintentionally opened up a massive can of worms. Emma shifted in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable, "He's, uh, living with me and my parents. It's complicated."

Esmeralda raised an eyebrow, a perfect imitation of the brow raise she had seen Regina do a million times.

"Miss Swan is Henry's birth-mother." Regina's voice was that of Mayor Mills: cool, crisp and clipped.

The table went quiet after that. It was not a comfortable silence, Emma stared at her tea, and wished it had some kind of magical answer. It was delicious, but offered no help.

"So I just came to make sure you were okay, and you are, so that's good."

She looked up in time to see Regina nod her head stiffly. God, why did this have to be so damn awkward?

"Between sucking up magic spells and wraith attacks you've been busy, huh."

She had meant it as a joke. A ha-ha funny joke to cut the tension.

"A wraith?"

Esmeralda's voice sounded strangled and it shook with something that sounded like terror. She dropped her cup on the table and paid no attention to the fact that it landed on its side. Tea spilled out in a puddle across the clean table and neither Esmeralda nor Regina paid it any attention. The dusky-skinned woman grabbed both of Regina's hands and flipped them over to look at the ex-mayor's palms. She was looking, Emma knew, for the strange and painful-looking Asian mark that had been burnt into Regina's hand.

"It's okay." Regina's voice was soft again, and Emma blinked at the change. She had only heard this softness enter the Evil Queen's voice when she spoke to or about Henry. "I'm okay. Nan, I'm fine."

Nan? Emma blinked, she knew Cora was Regina's mother and Esmeralda didn't look nearly old enough to be her mother. There was more to this situation then she was seeing.

"Miss Swan" Regina paused and pursed her lips tightly, like she had just sucked on a lemon, "stopped the wraith."

Esmeralda had yet to let Regina's hands go, but she turned her head to stare at Emma. "You saved her?"

Emma shrugged, "It's kind of my thing. Besides from what Henry told me, Regina saved me right back yesterday."

Esmeralda's face was unreadable and Regina's was calm and carefully emotionless.

"So anyway, we're having this Welcome Home slash Welcome to Storybrooke Party at Granny's tonight, and you guys should come. I mean you can see Henry and everyone can meet Esmeralda and it would be good."

She had to get out of this weird, uncomfortable and frankly strange, situation. It felt like she was interrupting Regina's reunion with whoever Esmeralda was to her. This whole thing had been a bad idea. She wasn't sure why she'd invited them to the party. It had just popped out of her mouth without her thinking about it first. Not to mention that her moth-Mary Marg-Snow. Snow. Snow and David would not like this impromptu addition to the guest list. Then again, since Regina hadn't answered yet, it probably wouldn't be an issue. Why would the Queen lower herself to schlep around with the common folk of Storybrooke?

"Should I bring anything?"

Emma blinked, shocked at Regina's quiet question. She was really going to come?

"Ah"

Hadn't Ruby said it would be pot-luck? She was pretty sure she had. "Just bring whatever Henry would like best."

She stood up, "So I will see you guys tonight about eight?" Suddenly she didn't regret the invitation.

Regina nodded silently, and for Emma couldn't help but wonder what exactly what was going through the woman's head.

"Thanks for the tea."

She left the two women in the kitchen and let herself out of Regina's house without another word. She made it a block before shoving her hands though her blonde hair, frustrated and confused. What the hell had just happened?

It was 11:40, only a few minutes left before the lunch rush. It had been a red-letter morning at Granny's. Ruby would never get tired of seeing families reunited. There had been so many reconnections since the curse broke. Fathers and daughters, Jefferson and his little girl; brothers, the dwarves; and of course husbands and wives. All she had was Granny, and they hadn't been separated during the big, bad, evil curse. Watching everyone else find each other, though, that was great.

The only down side to Steve and Lia, Stephen and Leah she corrected herself, finding their long-lost daughter again was that Aurora's guard dog had suddenly found herself at loose ends. The Chinese woman was sitting in the same place she had been in all morning. She was staring out the window, working on what had to be her fifth cup of coffee. Her pancakes hadn't been touched since Aurora had left and Ruby had whisked the plate of cold food away at least an hour ago. The happy parents had whisked their daughter off and had barely spared a glance for the woman who had protected her for so long.

It was harsh, but that was how the nobility treated commoners. Some things, Ruby scowled, should have stayed in the Enchanted Forest. She didn't really know what to say to the woman. It had to be hard to watch the only person in the entire world that you knew walk away. Especially if you had sworn an oath to protect them. Ruby wrinkled her nose as she absent-mindedly wiped the counter with a cloth. Aurora was obviously in good hands, her parents were thrilled to have her back. They would help her adjust to her new reality in Storybrooke. She was back to being a pampered princess. What was Mulan supposed to do? There weren't many openings for wandering warriors in Storybrooke.

The bells above the door jingled but Ruby didn't bother to look up. It was 11:44, she had no doubt who had entered. Ruby recognized her scent immediately: musty books, floor polish, peaches and sunshine. Belle always came in at a quarter till noon for a glass of tea and a sandwich. She would sit at the counter and they would talk. Ruby had tried to convince herself that it wasn't the highlight of her day, and had failed miserably at it so far. She reached for the glass of tea, with lemon, that she had just poured and looked up, ready to see Belle's smile.

"Mulan?"

Belle was smiling, but not at her.

The brunette, dressed in the black dress with an adorably high collar and red stripes, was staring at Storybrooke's newest arrival.

"Belle."

Mulan smile was small, but genuine and when she stood up, Belle immediately rushed to hug her.

Ruby's fist clenched around the rag and the wolf buried deep inside her growled.

Next: The Party at Granny's