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Chapter Text

Emma Swan lay on her back staring up at the ceiling and counted the spots made by previous foster kids. She pushed the scratchy and too small blanket down further, the layers of clothes she had put on before crawling into bed making her warmer than normal in the cool room. Her eyes danced around the room, the walls a mixture of holes, plaster, and crayon that had just begun to fade more from time than anything else.

She could hear the television going downstairs and wondered if Mr. White had fallen asleep in front of it again or if he was still awake. The small room was dark and windowless and she longed to be able to stare up at the moon instead, to try and pass the time til she was able to leave. It had always brought her a feeling of calmness and it was one of the things she disliked most about this current foster home.

She closed her eyes, straining her ears to try and listen for any signs of whether Mr. White was asleep or not. She sighed, not able to hear anything distinctive and opened her eyes again, looking at the space in the wall where there should have been a door. Her fingers tapped on her thigh impatiently as she shifted her weight on the creeky and too small bed. 

Her gaze fell to her small black backpack and she tried to remember what she had put into it, hoping she hadn’t left anything important out. It sat between her and James’ bed, a younger foster kid who had been with the White’s for the last month. She worried what would happen to him when she was no longer around to be the punching bag for Mr. White. 

Her heart stopped as she heard the television downstairs turn off followed by a gruff cough that sent a shiver of discomfort down her spine, and footsteps leading further from her room.  With a quick glance over at James to be sure he was still asleep she slowly climbed out from bed, careful to avoid making the worn springs creak. 

Her shoes were already on her feet and she quietly pulled on an old red leather jacket that a girl at her previous foster home had given her. She picked up the bag and opened it, looking at the clothes, book, and few granola bars she had managed to snatch throughout the week. She grabbed a small rabbit, more gray than white now, and stared at it for a moment. She thought back to the family who had given it to her, she remembered clutching the rabbit tightly to her chest as she was taken away by the social worker, the only parents she had ever known standing on their porch, the wife’s hand resting on her growing stomach.

She bit her lip and quickly wiped the tears that had begun to form from her eyes before stuffing the rabbit into the bag as well. Looking over at James she whispered a quiet apology before making her way out of the room and down to the kitchen. She knew she wouldn’t find much, but hoped to find a few more things to keep her going over the next couple of days.

The pantry was mostly bare, the good food kept in a locked cupboard that only the White’s had access to. A few moldy pieces of bread, some crackers, and a few cans of soup sat on the shelves. She stuffed a can of soup into her jacket pocket, grabbed the crackers, and quietly shut the pantry door jumping and almost dropping them as she came face to face with Mr. White.

“What on Earth do you think you’re doing?” His face red and pursed as he towered over her.

Emma froze, her mouth refusing to work as she eyed the door behind him, wondering how she was going to get past him and out it. 

“I said. What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Stealing food in the middle of the night? You know the punishment for that.” His hand went to his belt buckle beginning to undo it as a sick smile came across his face. A drop of sweat tickled it’s way down the back of her neck and she shifted uncomfortably as she felt it slowly trailing down her back. The marks that had been left on her back were still there from the last time he had pulled out the belt and used it on her. She needed to run. Now.

With as much strength as she could muster she grabbed the can of soup from her pocket and threw it at his head and ran around him as quickly as possible. A loud thud echoed through the once quiet house as she crashed into the wall, stumbling over her feet and throwing herself at the door. 

“You ungrateful bitch!” 

Her heart pounded, the sound echoing loudly in her ears as she scrambled to unlock the door, the heavy sound of footsteps behind her causing her hands to slip on the knob as she tried to open the door. Finally, she was able to throw open the door and launched herself out onto the front step before she took off running down the familiar and empty street. 

“Get back here!” His voice echoed behind her and she didn’t dare turn to look for fear that he had followed. Her heart pounded in sync with her feet slapping the pavement, the cool air drying the sweat that had formed in her struggle to get out of the house. As soon as she hit the main road she slowed down, walking along the sidewalk past the mostly closed shops. 

The neon ‘Open’ sign blinked on the side of a building, she looked both ways down the empty street and ran across before slipping inside of the dark dive bar called Nifty’s. Her face wrinkled up at the stale smell of cigarettes and alcohol as she pushed past a group of drunk guys, ignoring their catcalls, as she made her way to the bathroom. 

Once inside she locked the door and slid down the wall, resting her head on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She slid the backpack off and opened up the small side pocket, pulling out a wad of cash she had managed to sneak from Mrs. White’s purse earlier that day and counting out the large bills for the first time since she had stolen it. Her eyes widened as she realized she held $500, more money than she had ever seen in her life. She put one of the $20s into her pocket, zipped the rest back into the pocket of her bag, and walked out of the bathroom.

Emma looked around the bar, taking in the sports photos on the wall before making her way up to the bar. She patiently waited for the bartender to make his way over before ordering a coke. He raised an eyebrow at her but nodded as he went about grabbing a glass and filling it up with coke, setting it down in front of her. She handed over the $20 and took a sip as she waited for her change. The bubbles fizzed on her tongue and she smiled, she couldn’t remember the last time she had had soda. She took another sip as she nodded her thanks to the bartender, pocketed the bills, and made her way to the end of the bar. 

The TV above her had a wrestling match on and she watched it for a few moments before she lost interest and began watching the people around her instead. She had never been inside of a bar before but she thought it looked a bit crowded for a Tuesday. A few different groups of people were seated at tables, the rest scattered around a pool table, and a couple of guys were pushing each other around as they played darts. 

“Do you guys have food?” She asked as the bartender walked within ear shot.

The only response she received was a laugh as he pushed a bowl of peanuts her way. The bowl was half empty and she debated if she was hungry enough to eat them. She reached forward, her hand brushing against them before she was interrupted by a voice behind her.

“You know how many people have had their hand in that bowl tonight?”

Emma jumped slightly and whipped around at the husky voice.

“And do you know where there hands have been?” Her face was twisted in disgust as she eyed the bowl for a moment before looking up at the blonde girl.

Emma scowled, not in the mood to deal with anyone, “And you are?” 

“Regina. There’s no way you’re old enough to be in this bar.”

Emma rolled her eyes before turning away from the woman and looking back up at the wrestling match. Her eyes closed and mouth pursed in frustration as she heard the scrape of the stool next to her being pulled out. She glanced over and raised an eyebrow at the woman, her eyes running over her neatly styled brown hair, taking in the somehow flawless make up and slightly puffy eyes, the designer suit shouting just how out of place she was here.

“Is there something you need?”

Regina raised her hand at the bartender before looking over at Emma, “Not particularly.”

“Is there a reason you sat next to me?”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t have?”

Emma groaned before raising her glass to her lips. She watched as Regina ordered a drink, her eyebrows raising slightly as she then watched the liquid quickly disappear from the first glass. She ran her finger around the rim of her glass and pulled out the small pay as you go phone from her pocket. She had saved for months for it and tried to only use it in emergencies. She swore as she saw the time, realizing it was too late to call anyone to come get her.

“Something the matter?”

“No, just lost track of time.”

“You know, you never told me your name.”

Emma stared at the woman, watching as she raised an eyebrow and stared back, she couldn’t help but wonder again what a woman like that was doing in a dive bar, and more importantly, what she was doing talking to her. Rolling her eyes she finally relented to the woman, “Emma.”

“Emma.” She repeated it, nodding her head and turning back to her drink.

The two fell into silence as Emma flipped her phone around between her hands wondering if there was any chance Neal was still awake at 1am on a Tuesday. The bar would be closing soon and she had yet to find a place to stay for the night. She could use the money that was burning a hole in her backpack, but she knew how quickly money could go, and would prefer not to use it on a motel room her first night.

“What brings you here on a Tuesday night Emma?”

“What makes you think I owe you my life story?” She shot back.

Regina laughed and shook her head, downed the rest of her drink, and stood up, “Last chance to vent to someone.”

Emma ignored her, staring straight at the TV, unwilling to look back at the stubborn woman next to her. The glass beneath her fingers had since warmed and she wished the bartender would come back this way so she could get some ice. Eventually she heard the stool scrape against the ground as it was pushed back in and watched as the woman walked out of the bar without a word. 

Her shoulders sagged in relief at finally being left alone and her head fell down as she took a couple of deep breaths and looked up again. Her eyes landed on a man towards the middle of the bar and she breathed out a quick ‘fuck’ as he made his way over to her. She watched him stumble, steadying himself on the bar before he stood directly in front of her. 

The overwhelming stench of marijuana and alcohol washed over her as he leaned in close enough for her to see the scar on his forehead, “Hey baby, what do you say we go back to my place?”

“How about no?” Emma spat back at him, attempting to move further away from him.

“Don’t be like that, a girl as pretty as you would look even better beneath me.”

Loud laughs pulled her attention from him and she looked over in disgust at the two men obviously rooting for the guy in front of her.

“Does that line ever work?”

Instead of a verbal answer he set his drink down on the bar and before she could process what was happening he had her pinned against the bar and his lips sloppily were on hers. His tongue shoved roughly into her mouth feeling more like she was having a dental exam than being kissed and the taste of alcohol caused her gag reflex to kick in. She managed to pull her hands free and pushed his chest as hard as she could. She brought her right hand up to wipe her lips in disgust as she shot him a glare, her eyes flaming and chest heaving. 

“What the fuck is your problem bitch?” 

He stepped close again this time his face taking on a completely different look, the lines of his jaw clenched visibly and she swore she could see a muscle in his neck jump. She hand reached down slowly and she clutched her bag tightly in one hand before looking back up at him.

“Get out of my-” Her head flew to the side as his hand came up to stop her mid sentance. She could feel the blood starting to run down her cheek and her hand flew up to press against it cringing at the sharp pain that went through it.

“Fucking fridgid bitch, you can’t speak that way to me, you’re going to pay for that.” His eyes narrowed as he stepped in closer to her, the sound of his friend’s laughing echoing behind her.

“Hey, what’s going on over here?” 

Emma had never been so happy to hear the bartender’s voice behind her and she took the moment to shove the man out of her way and ran out of the bar. No sooner had she made her way to the sidewalk did she hear the familiar voice from the bar shout out her name.

“Emma! Are you okay?”

She groaned as she realized Regina was still hanging around the outside of the bar, “I thought you left.”

“I did, I forgot to cash out, I was coming back to do so. What happened to your face?”

Emma flinched as Regina’s hand softly brushed against her face, just underneath the cut, “Nothing.”

Regina rolled her eyes, “Obviously something happened Emma, is there anything I can do to help? Do you need a ride home?”

At that Emma’s eyes widened and she shook her head.

“To a friend then? Or a motel?

“Uh. Okay, a motel would be nice, thanks.” Emma relented as she slowly followed Regina to the black sports car parked just down the street. 

“Stay here and keep the doors locked, I’ll be back in just a moment.” Emma clutched onto the bag between her legs as she watched Regina make her way back into the bar. The streets were empty and she was slightly afraid that the guys would be coming out to look for her. She reached down and grabbed the pocket knife from her bag, switching it open and gripping it tightly in her right hand.

As the door opened she held her breath, ready to duck and hide before sighing in relief as she saw Regina walk out and begin walking back towards the car. She unlocked the doors and watched as Regina sat down and started the car, “Any preference on which motel?”

“Just the cheapest one around is fine.”

Regina nodded before typing a few things into her phone. She set it down on the dash and took off, following the directions on the screen.  Emma stared out the window losing herself in the blur of the lights as they sped past them. Her thoughts raced around what had happened tonight and she wondered what she was going to do about school, whether she dared to go back tomorrow or if that would lead to Mr. White waiting outside for her.

The bright red vacancy sign stood out against the sky, the closest street light flickered dimly, and Emma shivered at the thought of staying here, but it couldn’t be worse than some of the homes she had been in before, and at least here she would have her own room. She lifted her bag onto her lap and turned to the woman next to her, “Thank you for dropping me off here.”

“You’re welcome Emma, listen, if there is anything else I can do…”

“Unless you can magically just turn my luck around, there’s not much anyone can do.” Emma scoffed bitterly.

Emma watched as the woman froze for a moment, her eyes widened just slightly and her lips pursed before she spoke, “What if I told you I could do that for you?”

Emma startled herself with the loud burst of laughter that came out at the suggestion, “I think those drinks you had at the bar affected you a bit more than you thought.”

Regina smirked, “What makes you think I can’t change your luck?”

Emma rolled her eyes, “What makes you think that you can?”

“Would you exchange your first born child for better luck?”

“Who are you? Rumplestiltskin?” She laughed at the idea and wondered if she had just accepted a ride from a woman who was completely out of her mind. Her gaze slowly moved to the lock, wanting to check that she could make a run for it if needed.

“No dear, not quite.”

“How could you turn my luck around?” 

Regina’s eyes glinted as the smile on her face grew, “Magic.”

The laugh that escaped Emma’s mouth this time was not one of amusement, it was tight and forced, the uncomfortableness filled the car and she found herself nodding, “Okay, you do that, turn my luck around and I promise you my first born. Thanks again, but I need to get going,  I need to get some sleep.”

With that Emma tossed open the door and practically ran from the car to the motel. After she got to the front door she started to pull it open before pausing for a moment and looking back over her shoulder. Regina was still sitting in her car staring at her and as their eyes met a shiver ran down Emma’s spine before she slipped into the motel. 

“From one crazy situation to another Swan, good going.” She mumbled before making her way up to the front desk.

“How can I help you?” The guy behind the desk asked as he stood up and walked over to her.”

“I just need a room for the night.”

“Smoking or non smoking?”

“Non smoking.”

“ID?”

Emma froze briefly before pulling open her bag and made a show of looking through it, “Shoot, it must have fell out at Nifty’s.” 

The man raised an eyebrow, “Sorry lady, without an ID there’s nothing I can do.”

“Please, I just need a bed for the night, I’ll be out of here by 8am.” She bit her lip and looked up at him, ready to beg for the room. 

He sighed and looked around, “Alright, but I never did this for you. Got it?”

“Got it. I won’t tell anyone. Thank you so much.”

He didn’t respond as he typed a few things into the computer before grabbing a key card and handing it to her, “Room number is on the card, upstairs and take a right. Sign here. It’ll be 50 for the night.”

Emma scribbled her name on the sheet and grabbed the card before he could change his mind, “Thanks.” She fumbled with her bag for a moment before pulling out 2 20s and a 10 from her pocket, handing it over to him.

She made her way up the stairs and took a right following the signs for room 212. She swiped her card and opened the door, peering in from the hallway. It was small and smelled funny but had a bed bigger than what she’d had at the White’s. 

After quickly looking around the room for anything out of place she locked the door behind her and secured the extra locks. She placed her backpack on the table and put her jacket over it, kicked her shoes off, and left them under the table. She pulled off the extra layers she had piled on before leaving the White’s and folded them quickly, leaving a new shirt out for tomorrow and storing the rest into her backpack. 

She turned the light off and crawled into bed setting her phone on the night stand by the bed and setting the alarm clock beside her for 7:30am. She rolled over and stared up at the ceiling as her eyes slowly drifted shut. 

Chapter Text

Regina watched Emma’s back disappear through the door of the motel wondering whether she had actually just tricked a young teenager into giving up her firstborn child. Her stomach twisted slightly at the idea but she shook it off, anyone who would flippantly promise that didn’t deserve a child anyways. She may have to wait years but eventually this would pay off, one day she would have the child she had always dreamed of having.

Her mind drifted back to her meeting today, the only reason she had been in Boston in the first place, a child. Her cheeks flushed and hands fisted so tightly they began to vibrate as she thought back to what the social worker had said about her application.

“Miss Mills, thank you for coming all the way to Boston, I hope it wasn’t a bad drive?” The social worker asked sitting back down in his chair as Regina took a seat in front of his desk.

“Not at all, thank you for meeting with me. I brought a couple more references with me too, just in case. I know you said that it could take a while, but have you heard back on my application?”

The older man shifted in his chair, work worn hands shuffled some papers before he looked back to his computer. He typed in a few things his face going unreadable as he mumbled under his breath. Regina tilted her head straining as though she’d be able to see the monitor that was facing away from her.

“Miss Mills, I’m sorry, but your application was denied.”

A cold chill ran through her body, the pounding of her heartbeat drowning out his voice as her vision narrowed. She had known that applying as a single woman was a shot in the dark but she truly had thought she had a chance. The cold quickly turned to anger as she brought her eyes up to meet those of the man in front of her.

“Why was I denied? Can I know the reason?” She clenched her fists tightly, trying to keep her voice steady.

He nodded his head as he typed a few things into his computer, “It looks like your relationship status and lack of a support network were listed as the reasons your application was denied. It looks like you didn’t put down any family?”

“My father died when I was young, we were in a bad car accident, and my mother, after he passed she withdrew from everyone.”

“Any extended relatives? Siblings?”

“None to speak of. But I promise, I could give a baby a wonderful home, the town I live in is small and everyone is close. We all help each other out, it’s the perfect place to raise a child. They may not be my blood but I do have access to a support network there.”

“I understand Miss Mills but I’m afraid there is nothing I can do. You’re welcome to reapply again in the future, perhaps after finding a man?”

Regina narrowed her eyes at him before standing and giving him a curt nod. Without another word she walked out of the building and hurried to her car, ‘The audacity… suggesting I find a man… I’ll show him…’ She mumbled under breath as she yanked her door orpen and sat down in the driver’s seat. A short and frustrated scream pierced the silence of the car and she hit the steering wheel before leaning her forehead on it taking a few deep breaths.

She didn’t need to go through him to get a baby anymore, not now that she had Emma. She looked over and picked up the scarf that had been left behind on her passenger seat, her fingers curling around it as a smirk overtook her face. She grabbed her purse before shutting her car off and making her way through the door Emma had just disappeared through.

***

Emma groaned as the sun peaked through the curtains that were just short of closing all the way, holes littered them and as her eyes opened fully she looked around confused for a moment before the events of last night rushed back to her. She pressed her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes again, the woman had been talking nonsense of magic and she was glad she had gotten out of the car when she had. She shook her head and opened her eyes again, there were crazy people everywhere.

She turned over, the faint red glow of the alarm clock next to her letting her know that it was far too late for her to go to school today, but as she let herself relax into the creaky but soft bed beneath her she couldn’t find the energy to care. More than likely Mr. White would be waiting outside for her at the end of the day, and she couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever go back to that school again.

Suddenly a shrill ring pierced the air, shook her from her thoughts, and her entire body froze, there was no way that Mr. White could have found her here was there? And if he had, wouldn’t he have come in person? She hesitated before reaching over and picking up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Miss Swan, it’s 10 minutes past check out time, are you going to need another night?”

“Fuck,” She breathed, “No. I’ll be down in just a minute.”

She pulled the phone away from her head as the loud dial tone rang out, signaling the man had hung up without another word. She reached over and hung the phone back up, took a moment to enjoy the bed that was more comfortable than what she had had at the White’s, before groaning and standing up.

She quickly used the bathroom, splashed some water on her face, and looked at the shower longingly, what she wouldn’t do for a hot shower right now. With a sigh she picked up her still packed bag from the night before and headed downstairs. As she walked into the lobby she froze, the familiar woman from last night sitting in one of the chairs typing away at a laptop.

What on Earth was Regina still doing here? Was she looking for her?

Emma bowed her head and quickly made her way towards the front desk and handed the man her key. She nodded her thanks before trying to escape through the front door without Regina seeing her.

“Emma!”

She swore quietly under her breath before stopping and reluctantly turning around to face Regina, “Regina. What are you still doing here?”

“It was too long of a drive home last night so I figured I’d grab a room, and I noticed you left your scarf,” She held out her hand, the faded red scarf in it.

“Oh. Uh. Thanks,” Emma took it and shifted from one foot to the other as the older woman studied her.

“You’re welcome Emma. Listen. Can I buy you breakfast? You seemed to be going through some stuff last night and if I’m being honest, I felt bad letting you leave alone.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary, thank you though. I need to get going.”

“Please. I insist, the concierge let me know there is a small diner just down the street. I was going to go there anyways. I could use the company.”

She sighed at the continued persistance, “Alright. I guess.” As much as she had wanted to get away without Regina seeing her, she couldn’t turn down the free food. What was another hour in exchange for a decent meal?

Regina smiled before packing up her laptop and leading the way out to her car.

***

“So, Emma, you can’t be more than 16? 17? What were you doing out at that bar last night?”

“Do we really need to talk about this? What were you doing there?” Emma shot back, picking up her knife and cutting into the large stack of pancakes in front of her. She had smothered them in butter and enough syrup to hurt her teeth with how sweet they had become, but the sugary syrup was something she hadn’t had in a long time and she couldn’t help herself.

The corner of Regina’s lip curled up with a smirk, “Of course not dear. I was simply curious. You did promise me your first born last night after all. I thought maybe we should get to know each other.”

At that Emma’s eyes shot up at her as if suddenly remembering the uncomfortable parting from the night before, her fork hung halfway between her plate and her half open mouth as she tried to gauge just how serious she was. She started to wonder if the food was really worth spending anymore time in this woman’s prescence.

“I was there because I found out my application to adopt a baby was rejected,” Regina said, breaking the silence as her eyes drifted back down to her plate.

Emma froze and stared at her, “You want to adopt a baby? Why don’t you just have one?”

“Not everyone can have a baby,” Her voice snapped, her body stiffening as she tried not to raise her voice any louder.

Emma winced, realizing how insensitive she had sounded, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Well maybe you should think twice before you speak,” Regina closed her eyes and sighed, “I’m sorry. I’m still a little… sensitive about it.”

“I think it’s great that you want to adopt.”

The only sound that passed between them over the next few minutes was silverware scraping against plates and the sound of glasses being put back down on the table.

“I’m a foster kid,” Emma admitted.

It was Regina’s turn to pause with her fork in midair as she took in what Emma had said and her behavior from last night. While she didn’t know as much about the foster system as she wished she did, things didn’t add up to anything good.

“Are you in a…”

“My current foster family is not the worst, not the best, but not the worst I’ve been in. I just, I needed to get away from them last night.”

“Are they hurting you Emma?” Regina placed her silverware back down and patted her lips with the napkin as she waited for a response.

“Nothing more than what I can handle. After a while you just get used to it. Unfortunately, magic isn’t real, and even if it were, there’s not enough magic in the world to change my situation,” Emma said, wondering if she should really be making such comments about magic.

Regina took a moment to really take in the young girl sitting in front of her. She was too thin and the bags under her eyes made her look older than she really was, while she put on a strong facade, if you looked hard enough, she looked exhausted, more exhausted than a 16 year old should.

“What if I told you Emma… what if I told you magic was real?”

“Oh, we’re back to this then huh? Are you crazy?” Emma’s eyebrow was raised as she didn’t bother hiding the smirk.

Regina raised her eyes to meet Emma’s, “I’m not lying Emma, I could help you, a simple good luck spell that could make your life easier. What do you have to lose?”

“And all for my first born right?” She rolled her eyes.

She chuckled and nodded, “All for your first born.”

Emma went back to eating, chewing slowly as she contemplated the choices here, she was usually pretty good at telling when people were lying, and there wasn’t a sign that Regina was. But, the idea that magic actually existed seemed completely unbelieveable. And really… what did she have to lose, perhaps if she agreed to this the woman would leave her alone after breakfast was done.

“Alright, you’ve got a deal. Make me have better luck and you can have my first born,” Emma laughed.

Regina smiled at her, “It’s a deal.”

Regina contemplated whether making a deal like this was cheating, when the girl clearly did not believe in the promise she had just made. As bad as she knew she should feel, she couldn’t help but make it anyway, she wanted a baby too badly to pass this up.

“So… why can’t you have a baby?”

Regina coughed, the piece of egg sliding uncomfortably down her throat and she took a sip of her coffee to try and clear it.

“There was an accident when I was younger, I was told I’ll never carry a full term pregnancy.”

Emma’s eyes widened and she nodded, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks.”

The rest of their breakfast passed in relative silence until Regina finally looked down at her watch, “I hate to cut this short but I do need to get back home today, I have a meeting this afternoon that I cannot miss.”

“Oh, of course, thank you for breakfast.”

“You’re welcome Emma, here do you have a phone?”

Emma looked up at her warily, “I do…”

“I’ll put my number into it, if you need any help, don’t be afraid to reach out.”

“Okay,” Emma passed her phone over, watching as Regina typed into it for a moment and handed it back.

“I sent myself a text as well so that I have your number. It was lovely meeting you Emma. Is there anywhere I can drop you off?”

“Uh, I guess at my friend’s house would be great, thanks.”

Emma followed Regina’s lead as they made their way up to the counter to pay before heading back out to the car. She gave her the directions to the small trailer park that August lived in, the soft jazz from the previous night filling the uncomfortable silence between the two. As they pulled up to the run down trailer Regina looked over at Emma once more.

“I hope your life becomes just what you want it to be Emma, I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks Regina, I hope you get the baby you’re looking for.”

With that Emma grabbbed her bag from the floor and exited the car moving to sit on the front step of the trailer until August got home. She sighed in relief as she watched as Regina pulled away before taking out the book she had shoved into her bag the night before and opening the well worn pages of it.

She moved her bag over to the side and leant back against the door, her legs crossing at her ankles as she lost herself in the familiar story.

***

Emma looked up from her book as she heard footsteps coming towards her. She creased the corner before putting it back into her bag and standing up.

“Yo Emma, where were you today?”

“Ah you know, was just around. I left the White’s last night and didn’t want to chance running into him at school today.”

“You could have called me for a ride you know.”

“It was late, I didn’t want to bother you.” Emma stepped aside so he could unlock the door and followed him inside of the small trailer.

She tossed her bag to the usual chair at the kitchen table and took a seat as she watched him immediately walk over to the fridge.

“Anything exciting happen at school?”

“Does anything exciting ever happen?”

Emma laughed at that and nodded, taking the glass of water he handed her.

“So where were you?” He rummaged through the cupboards before settling on a couple packages of ramen and set to work making them, pulling out two plastic bowls and a fork and spoon for each of them.

“You’re never going to believe me. I ended up at that dive bar not too far from the White’s, the one that we always joke about. It was just a bad day and by the time I was able to leave the house, it was the only thing open. There was a woman there that wouldn’t leave me alone, she ended up taking me to a motel, and when I left in the morning she was still there. So we went out to breakfast. But man, August, I think she was crazy or on something. She kept talking about magic as though it was real,” Emma chuckled as she recounted what had happened the previous night.

August stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her, “You’re kidding right? You got into a car with a stranger you met at a bar in the middle of the night?”

“I mean, I know it wasn’t smart, but I needed a ride somewhere, it was 2am and I was exhausted. But seriously August, she kept going on about how she could make my life better if I promised her my first born child.”

“Jesus Emma, sounds like the lady was off her meds,” August set two bowls of ramen onto the table and sat down across from her, “You think she’s going to bother you again?”

“You can say that again, nah I think she’s gone for good. She seemed crazy, harmless, but crazy.”

Emma twirled the noodles around the fork and took a small bite, still full from the large breakfast she had had not long ago.

“The weird thing is though… you know how I have that thing? Where I know if someone is lying to me? She wasn’t lying when she said that magic was real.”

“I mean, maybe she just truly believes it’s real Emma. But come on, you know there’s no such thing.”

Emma shrugged, “True.”

She looked down into her bowl as August began to fill in what she had missed at school that day. Her thoughts wandered off to the woman who had plagued her thoughts since they had met. Something had seemed off about her and she wanted to know why. Before she could think twice about it she pulled out the phone and sent off a quick text wishing Regina a safe ride home.

“What are you going to do about her? What if she finds you again?”

“I mean, she’s gone, she said she was only in Boston for a meeting. Anyways, like you said, there’s no such thing as magic, let’s just drop it.”

Regina walked down the dark concrete stairs to her vault, she busied herself pulling out various ingredients and spread them out around a book on the table in the center of the room. She flipped through the pages, the sound of old pages turning breaking the silence around her. Her eyes flit across the pages as she searched for the one thing she was looking for, a spell to increase the luck of someone.

She pulled out a baggie containing a single blonde hair and set to work mixing the ingredients to begin the incantation. A stone mortar was quickly filled with various ingredients and she muttered to herself as she went along following the instructions. Various sized glass and stone pots were placed neatly around the shelves and the candles she had lit as she walked in cast the area in a soft warm glow.

She repeated a few words as she stirred the ingredients together before pouring it into a small glass vial. She grabbed the hair out of the bag and folded it in half a few times before placing it into the vial. She sealed it and placed it between her hands, a glow emitting from them as she repeated the final words of the incantation.

A smile crossed Regina’s face and she slipped the vial into a red velvet bag before safely tucking it into one of her drawers, sealing it with a spell. The various ingredients and jars were put back to where she had gotten them from and with a wave of her hand the candles went out as she walked back out of the vault.

On the way back to her car she pulled out her compact mirror and waved her hand over it, an image of Emma appearing in the place of her own reflection. She watched the young girl sitting on the couch with a male friend next to her. The two were watching television and she smiled, running her finger over the reflection. This girl was going to make her dreams come true, she was finally going to have the child she deserved and desired.

***

Emma looked down at her ringing phone, it had been a week since Regina had walked out of her life and she hadn’t heard from her since. She didn’t recognize the number and quickly picked it up, “Hello?”

“Hi Emma, this is Jack. We’ve had some interest in your photo listed on our website. As you know you were recently featured as one of the Wednesday kids. I’ll be swinging by the White’s house to pick you up for an interview tomorrow afternoon after school, does that work for you?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess.” She had received this call in the past and the dejected tone of voice showed just how much hope she placed in this interview. As she processed that he would be picking her up at the White’s she panicked, “Actually, could you pick me up right from school?”

“Sure, I’ll be there at 2:15pm. This is a good thing Emma.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

She hung up the call and looked over at a questioning August, “There’s a family who wants to meet me I guess.”

“Emma that’s awesome! It’s been a while she you had an interview right?”

“Yeah, years. I wonder why they want to meet me. I’m almost aged out of the system anyways.”

“Don’t question it, just be happy it’s happening. Come on, I’ve gotta run an errand, you coming with?”

“Sure.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Emma sat outside of her high school on one of the benches in the front yard, hidden slightly by one of the trees. She looked around for Mr. White’s car again as she picked at her fingernails, wincing as she looked down and saw a spot of blood appear on her index finger. Her leg shook anxiously and she pulled out her phone to check the time again. 2:12, he would be here any moment. She wondered what this couple was like but was quickly pulled out of her thought’s by the familiar car pulling up.

The window rolled down and a young man smiled up at her from the driver’s seat, “Hey Emma, how are you doing?”

“Hi Jack. I’m doing okay, you?”

“Good, are you excited? The Charmings seem like very nice people.”

“Charmings? What? Are they from a fairytale?” She rolled her eyes as she pulled the seatbelt across her chest.

“Emma…” His voice took on the same tone he used every time he tried to get her to fall in line, he glanced over at her and raised his eyebrows, “There is a family out there for you, you just need to give them a chance. How are things going at the White’s?”

“Oh… uh… they’re alright.”

“Anything you need to talk to me about.”

Emma shook her head and turned to face out the window, desperately wanting to steer the conversation away from her foster family, a part of her couldn’t believe that they hadn’t called Jack the moment she had left, the other part knew they didn’t care enough to do so. As long as the state thought she was still there, they would continue getting money for her.

She watched Jack nod in the reflection of the window and was grateful when he didn’t press her anymore on how things were going. They took the now familiar route to the local diner, a few years back they had decided to switch the meetings from the office to places in the community, Emma figured at least on these meetings she got a free decent meal.

They pulled up and her stomach immediately knotted, she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans before tossing Jack a hesitant smile, and opening the door. The two made their way into the diner and took a seat in the back corner, “I’m going to grab a menu and then we can order, alright?”

Emma looked around the mostly empty diner as the table vibrated slightly from her knee bouncing. She reached up and grabbed the menu that Jack held out towards her and looked over it quickly, “Can I get a bacon cheeseburger, french fries, and a coke?”

“Sure, I’ll be right back, do you need to use the bathroom before they get here?”

“I’m okay.” She pulled out her phone as he walked away, smiling at the short text message August had sent her, assuring her that things could work out for her and to just be herself and have hope.

Jack sat back down in front of her and smiled, setting his hands on the table in front of them.
“Now Emma, Mary Margaret and David are specifically looking for a teenager to adopt. They’re a young couple but passed their application with flying colors. Just, give them a shot okay?”

“Why do they want to adopt a teenager?”

“I think that’s a question for them,” His eyes flickered above her head and he smiled, waving at something behind her.

She took a shaky breath as she felt her throat tighten as thought her heart had jumped into it. Her hands shook beneath the table as the couple came into view, Jack stood up and shook their hands before moving to sit next to Emma instead. She would never admit it out loud but each one of these meetings filled her with a tentative hope.

“Hi Emma, we’re so happy to meet you.” David said.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

“We haven’t done one of these meetings before, so we’re a little nervous.” Mary Margaret stumbled.

Jack smiled over at them, “No worries, these meetings are always filled with nerves, Emma and I have already ordered, why don’t you place your order and we can start talking some more.”

The couple nodded before making their way up to the front counter.

“They don’t look much older than me.”

“They’re both in their late 20s. Like I said Emma, just give them a chance. You never know.”

As Mary Margaret and David sat down again Emma gave a small smile.

“Emma, would you like to tell us a little bit about yourself or do you want us to start?”

She fidgeted for a moment before asking, “Would you guys mind starting?”

“Not at all.” David smiled.

“We met in high school and got married after college. I own an animal shelter and Mary Magaret is a 3rd grade teacher back in Storybrooke where we both live. It’s a small town, everyone knows each other, it sounds a bit cliche I guess, but we love it there.”

“I know you’re probably wondering why we’re looking to adopt a teenager when we’re not that much older ourselves. I guess we should tell you that off the bat. One of our close friends in high school was a foster kid, we watched him get bounced from home to home until one day he was moved out of state. We lost touch with him for a while but found him not too long ago. He was never adopted. He always talked about how older kids and teens were overlooked in the system and we promised each other that when we were ready for a kid, we would adopt a teenager.”

Emma slowly nodded, she stared at them looking at both of their open and smiling faces. They were telling the truth, she took a deep breath and tried not to let too much hope sink in that she might actually find a family.

“Where is Storybrooke?”

“It’s about 2 hours outside of Boston.”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek and wiped her palms on her jeans again. 2 hours wasn’t too far, but to leave August behind. She’d been fortunate so far to have been placed consistently in the Boston area. To leave behind the one person who had been there for her for so long unnerved her.

“We’ve read the papers that Jack sent us but we would really like to hear about you from you, what kind of things do you like to do?”

“Um, I like to run, I used to be on the track team but the new foster family couldn’t pick me up after practice so I had to quit. I still run with a friend though. I also like to write, and I love animals, dogs mostly but I’ve never had one.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, the Storybrooke high school does have a track team, and even if we couldn’t pick you up we live in walking distance of the high school, everything is pretty close in town,” Mary Margaret said, pausing as the waiter came over with all of their food.

“And we’ve been thinking about getting a dog, but we wanted to wait until we adopted, just in case they didn’t like dogs or were allergic,” David chimed in.

“Do you guys like bigger or smaller dogs?” Emma asked.

“Well, I prefer smaller dogs, but David likes the larger ones, but honestly we just want to find a rescue from the shelter who would get along with all of us.”

Emma nodded and picked up her cheeseburger. The group fell into a slight silence as everyone started eating. She looked around at Mary Margaret and David and tried to imagine herself living with them, she didn’t know if she could ever really call them mom and dad, but to have a secure place to live. To know she had people, food, and to not be beaten from foster families who were just in it for the money. It was a life she had a hard time imagining.

They looked like decent people, and Jack had said their application had passed with flying colors. Of course that didn’t mean anything, but something was telling her that these people weren’t in it just for the money.

“Emma, are you okay?” Jack asked, looking over at her. The cheeseburger still held in midair untouched.

She nodded and shook herself out of her thoughts before taking a bite of it, smiling over at Mary Margaret and David.

“So did you guys always live in Storybrooke?”

“We didn’t, we are from Boston but had wanted a change of scenery, somewhere quieter. It’ll sound funny, but we did a Google search and found out about Storybrooke, when we went to see it, we fell in love with it.”

“We don’t mean to be too forward, but we would love for you to come visit and check it out,” David added.

She looked over at Jack, the question obvious on her face.

“We can schedule a time next week to drive you out so you can visit. I know that these meetings are nerve wracking Emma, and that you’ve had a lot of disappointments in the past, but just look at this as another opportunity, perhaps your luck is changing Emma.”

“Yeah… maybe.” Emma went back to eating her fries.

“We know that you’ve been through a lot of homes Emma, but we’d really like you to think about giving us a chance. We’re not going into this blindly, we’ve talked to over with multiple social workers and even a therapist. We just want to give you the chance that you deserve.”

Emma watched as David spoke, she stared at him waiting for the little voice in her head to tell her that they were lying. That they were in it for the money, or that they wanted the attention. She shifted from side to side on the bench. She reluctantly nodded and looked over at Jack, “I’d like to visit Storybrooke, could we go this weekend?”

Mary Margaret reached over and grasped David’s hand the two of them smiling widely at each other at Emma’s words.

“Sure, let me check my schedule but I think Saturday would work, is that okay for all of you?”

The three of them nodded, “We’re so glad you’re willing to give us a chance Emma.”

The waiter stopped back at the table, collected the now empty plates, and left the check with Jack. Emma smiled as she tried to keep up the small talk with Mary Margaret and David her thoughts bouncing all around as she wondered if her luck was actually changing. For a moment Regina flashed through her mind and the weird comments she had made about magic and changing Emma’s luck. She shook her head at that, before forcing herself back into the conversation the other three were having.

Mary Margaret smiled over at Emma, turning her attention away from the men, “Have you started to think about college or what you want to do Emma? I know it’s a bit early.”

“I’m not sure yet, I think I want to go for criminal justice, maybe be a police officer. Or possibly a social worker.”

At that Jack paused and turned over to look at her, “You’ve never told me you were considering social work before Emma. When did you decide that?”

“I’m not sure. I just think that maybe my experience in the system could make me good at it, you know? I know what foster kids go through and can relate to them better than all the social workers I’ve dealt with, no offense.”

“None taken, I think that’s an incredible idea and I think you’d be great at it. I’ve seen how you are with some of the foster kids you’ve stayed with, you really have a knack for getting them to listen to you.”

“They just do that because I’m older than them and have been in the system longer.”

“They don’t. They do it because they respect you.”

Emma looked down at the table again, a slight flush coming over her cheeks at the praise she was unused to receiving. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Mary Margaret and David smiling brightly over at her, which caused the heat in her cheeks to worsen. She gave a mumbled thanks and started picking at her nails under the table.

“Well. I hate to be the one to cut this short, but I do need to get Emma home for the night, I have another meeting tonight, and I’m sure Emma has a lot of homework.”

“It was so nice meeting you Emma, we can’t wait to show you around Storybrooke this weekend.”

“I’ll have to bring you by the animal shelter, show you the animals we have in right now. We don’t have too big of a stray animal problem in Storybrooke but a couple of the neighboring towns end up using our shelter as well. We’ve got this one pitbull right now, the biggest baby you’ll ever meet.”

“I can’t wait, it was nice meeting you guys too.”

The four made their way out of the diner, Emma following Jack back to his car. As they started driving Emma could feel her stomach twisting at the thought of going back to the White’s. She had been staying with August and his mother ever since she had left, and she really didn’t want to go back. Her throat tightened and she looked over at Jack, trying to bring up the courage to tell him what had been going on.

“Jack… I need to talk to you about something.”

He immediately turned to look at her, concern clear on his face, “Should I pull over for this?”

“Please.”

As they came up to a gas station he pulled it and tossed the car into park before turning to face Emma, “What’s going on Emma?”

“I- uh… I just. I can’t go back to the White’s, can you bring me to my friend August’s instead?”

“What do you mean you can’t go back to the White’s? Did something happen?”

Emma looked down at her hands resting in her lap, she pressed down on the angry red skin around her nails wincing slightly at the pain before continuing to talk, “I haven’t been there in a week. Mr. White, he uh. He’s not a good guy. He beats us, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I know I should have called you but I didn’t want to go to another home, I’m almost 18, and my friend’s mom has been letting me stay with them.”

“Emma. Why didn’t you say anything sooner? You know you can come talk to me about this.”

“I know. I just. I can’t be in another foster home, I’m so tired of moving around all the time. Can I please just stay with August til this weekend?”

“You know I can’t allow that Emma, I’m sorry. Come on, we’ll stop at August’s to find your stuff and find you somewhere to stay for tonight.”

The metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth as she bit down on her lip and turned to stare out the window. She knew she never should have said anything to him. A new foster home. A new person to belittle and beat her.

“If the Charming’s have already been approved, can I go stay with them instead? They seemed really nice.”

“It would be hard to switch all your records over for school that fast and you can’t stay out of school for a week. Listen, this next one will just be for a little while, then we’ll get you to Storybrooke, and if everything works out, maybe you’ll never have to leave.”

She stayed silent at that, this just proved that she had thought wrong, her luck wasn’t changing, no matter how badly she wished that it would.

Chapter Text

“Emma, how was the rest of your week?” Mary Margaret asked, smiling at her as she climbed out of the car.

“Okay,” Emma said without looking up at Mary Margaret.

“Sorry, Emma had to go to a new foster home for the week, it can be very unsettling for a lot of foster kids, perhaps this wasn’t a good idea for today.”

“No. I want to be here. Can we go to the shelter first?” Emma asked.

“Sure, if that’s what you want,” David smiled at her and they made their way down the street.

She looked around as they walked, the town was small and somehow exactly as she had pictured when Mary Margaret and David had been talking about it at the diner. She watched as people waved and smiled at them, occasionally stopping for a quick conversation on their way to the shelter.

She thought about what life would have been like growing up here. Being around the same kids each year, knowing everyone on the street. She thought about what it would have been like to grow up in the house they had parked in front of, a 2 story house complete with a white picket fence in the front yard.

“Here we are, who would you like to see first?”

“Can we see the pit bull you were talking about?”

“Of course, she’s back here.”

It had been a while since Emma had been around animals. Most of the foster homes she had been in didn’t have any pets, and neither did August. She saw them walking around the streets of course, but had never been inside of a shelter before. Cages lined the walls and she could hear faint meowing coming from one end of the hall, barking from another.

David led the way down a hallway and opened the door. There were 12 ceiling to floor cages, all of them full. Some of the dogs were still sleeping but most had perked up, coming to the front of them as they heard the door open.

“Bailey is down here, she’s a friendly girl, do you want to help me take her for a walk?”

“I’ve never walked a dog before.”

“She’s an easy walker, I’ll teach you how.”

She hesitated for a moment but nodded, following him down to one of the last cages. She peered inside at the dog sitting there, her head cocked to the side slightly as she looked up at them. Recognizing David she leaped up and put her paws up on the cage and barked a greeting causing Emma to take a step back.

“You don’t need to be afraid, she’s just saying hello, here, there’s a bucket of treats on each cage, you can give her one if you want.”

She nodded and took a step forward reaching out and holding the treat between the bars for dogname to grab. She laughed as Bailey immediately grabbed the treat before dropping it on the ground and eating it.

David smiled down at Emma, if all went well, perhaps Emma would be here to stay. She watched as he grabbed a collar and leash, unlocked the door, and got her all set up to go out. Emma reached out a hand slowly for Bailey to sniff, laughing as she immediately was licked, the dog’s tail wagging back and forth.

“It looks funny when she tries to wag her tail.”

David laughed and nodded in agreement, “It’s one of my favorite things about pit bulls.”

They walked to the door at the end of the hall that led out to the fenced in yard. “She loves to play fetch, after we walk her, we can play for a bit if you’d like.”

“Sure.” She followed him out the gate of the fence and they walked along the building, Bailey sniffing the ground and various objects as they went.

“Would you like to walk her now?” He offered the leash out to her.

“I guess, she won’t run will she?”

“There’s always a chance but she’s good about matching the pace of whoever is walking her, she’s also been through a lot of training since she came in and listens to commands. Just tell her to stop if she starts.”

“What happened to her? Why is she here?”

“Unfortunately, a family adopted her as a puppy but as she got bigger they decided they just didn’t want her anymore. We see it a lot, puppies and kittens are cute, but some people just don’t want the responsibility of an animal once they’re out of their cute baby stage.”

Emma let out a short laugh, “Sounds like people in foster care too. Everyone wants babies.”

“Well, not everyone, as much as Mary Margaret and I love babies, we think we’d do better with a teenager or older child like yourself.” They walked in silence for a moment before David looked over at her again, “You were in foster care since you were a baby right Emma? Would it be okay to ask about what happened?”

“I don’t really know. My birth mom was young, I think she just couldn’t handle having a child. I thought my first foster family would adopt me, they had me for over 2 years, almost 3. But, then they had a baby of their own and I guess they didn’t want to deal with me and a baby.”

“I’m sorry that happened Emma.”

“You don’t have to apologize. You didn’t do it.”

“I know, but you’re still a kid, and you’ve been through more than anyone should have to in a lifetime.”

They circled around the building and made their way back to the fenced in yard where Jack and Mary Margaret were waiting. David let Bailey off her leash and grabbed a tennis ball to hand to Emma, “Do you want to toss it first?”

“Sure.” She smiled as Bailey ran after the ball at top speed, almost running straight over it, before bringing it back to her. She dropped it at her feet and then impatiently shifted from side to side as she waited to see if Emma would throw it again. Emma laughed before picking the ball up and throwing it again.

David walked over to Mary Margaret and wrapped his arm around her waist, “Are you guys free to stay for dinner? Mary Margaret put a roast in the crock pot this morning, she makes the best pot roast you’ll ever have.”

“We do, we can’t stay too late though, I need to have Emma back home by 10pm.”

“Sounds great, I think we might have to bring the dog with us.”

They laughed and watched Emma run around the yard with Bailey, going between tossing the ball and play wrestling with her. Jack smiled and turned to look at them, “That’s the happiest I’ve ever seen Emma.” The smile they shared was bittersweet. To remember that most of Emma’s life had been filled with disappointment and hardships by the age of 16, no child deserved that.

“Emma, would you like to see the house? Bailey can come with us, I’ll just sign her out for the day.”

“Sure, that’d be awesome.”

As they made their way back towards the Charming’s house Emma held the leash with a bit more confidence, she smiled as she looked through the town, the more time she spent here, the more she liked it. Deep down she still held the fear that things could go wrong, but the small spark of hope that was growing began to beat it down.

“How are you liking Storybrooke?” David asked her.

“I really like it, it’s like the town is right out of a movie. The old buildings, everyone knowing each other, it’s a lot different than Boston.”

He smiled down at her, “The high school is really nice too, if you want you can come back again to see it as well during the week.”

Emma looked back at Jack, “Can I do that next week?”

“I’m sure we can arrange that.” He smiled back at her and fell back, holding Mary Margaret back with him, “Are you guys really thinking about adopting her? Emma has had a lot of disappointments in her life and she really can’t afford another one.”

“We are, we’ve been talking about it all week. I know we’d have to take her in as a foster first and do all the paperwork, but our hope would be that she’d be able to stay with us permanently. She seems like a really sweet girl, I can’t imagine why she had never been adopted in the past.”

“As kids age the chance of being adopted decreases. The first family Emma was with didn’t decide to give her back until she was almost three years old. She’s unfortunately ended up in a few bad foster homes as well. The process shouldn’t take too long, it’s mostly a matter of paperwork and when we can get a meeting with a judge if you guys choose to adopt her and she wishes to be adopted by you as well.”

Mary Margaret nodded, “What’s the soonest she’d be able to come live with us?”

“It’ll depend on the schools and how quickly we could get her transferred, usually within a week of the requests being sent in we can get kids transferred.”

David opened the door and motioned for Emma, Mary Margaret, and Jack to walk through. Emma looked around her mouth opening slightly in awe, most of the houses she had stayed in didn’t look like this. Everything was picked up and neat, there were a few house plants and paintings that she could see hung up on the walls. The house was very modern and not quite what she was expecting from what the rest of Storybrooke looked like.

She followed them into the kitchen, “It smells great Mary Margaret.”

“Thank you Emma, would you like to eat first or take a tour of the house?”

“Could I look around first?” She reached down and patted Bailey who was sitting next to her, leaning slightly into her leg.

Mary Margaret nodded and led Emma through the house leaving David and Jack with Bailey in the living room. She motioned to a couple of rooms through the house, pointing out the bathroom and basement where the laundry room was. They walked up the stairs and Emma took in the various photographs lining the walls, photos of Mary Margaret and David in various locations, blissful smiles on their faces.

“Was this your wedding photo?” She motioned to one of them standing in front of huge stone church. Mary Margaret was wearing an elaborate white dress with her hands placed on David’s which were resting on her stomach.

“It was, we were married 6 years ago but wanted to secure our jobs before we thought about adding kids into it as well. I remember it like it was yesterday though,” She trailed off, her eyes beaming before shaking her head and leading the way all the way up and to the left, “This is our bedroom, we have our own bathroom so you’d have the one down the hall to yourself.”

Emma’s eyes widened at that, she hadn’t had her own room since her first foster family, let alone her own bathroom. She was used to being one of many, of sleeping on uncomfortable cots and fighting for a turn in the bathroom in the morning. It was hard to imagine having space to call her own.

A beautiful dark oak bed sat in the middle of the room with matching furniture around the room, a giant antique mirror hung over the dresser. More pictures were hung and up on the dressers and a beautiful abstract painting hung behind the bed. She followed Mary Margaret out to the hallway again. On the other side of the staircase were three more doors.

“There are two rooms you could choose from. They’re pretty similar, just different views outside and one has a walk-in closet.”

Both rooms had beds and dressers but for the most part were pretty empty. The walls were painted white and a couple of storage boxes were against the walls.

“You could redecorate of course, and we could help you paint if you want.”

Emma’s hands clenched tightly by her sides and her breathing started to quicken, “Could I use the bathroom for a moment?” She didn’t wait for Mary Margaret to respond before she hurried to the door she had pointed out earlier and shut and locked the door behind her.

She sunk against the wall and dug her nails into her wrists as her heart quickened, the sound overwhelming her senses. She rocked back and forth slightly, digging her nails in harder, the pain of skin breaking not registering. Her vision started getting hazy and her eyes widened in panic, thoughts raced around her mind and she wasn’t able to hold onto any of them.

She lost track of how long she sat there until suddenly the faint sound of pounding started to pull her attention. She started trying to slow her breathing, taking deeper breaths and focusing on the faucet. She felt her heart starting to slow down and she looked over at the door and groaned, putting her forehead on her knees. She could hear Mary Margaret, David, and Jack calling her name and pounding on the door.

There was no way they were going to want her after this.

She slowly stood up and opened the door, her eyes felt swollen and she kept them trained on their feet, refusing to meet their eyes.

“Guys, let me talk to Emma for a minute, why don’t you get dinner on the table and we’ll meet you down there.”

She watched as they walked away and walked back into the bathroom sitting down on the edge of the bathtub.

“Are you alright Emma?”

“It’s just. It’s a lot. I didn’t mean to have a panic attack. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize for that Emma, we all understand. We were just worried.”

She stayed quiet and brought her hands up to wipe the last of the tears from her face.

“There’s no way that this will work out. Things like this just don’t happen to me Jack…”

“Emma, look at me.” He knelt down and waited til she looked up and met his eyes, “Mary Margaret and David are very serious about adopting you. They wanted to know how quickly we could get you transferred into Storybrooke High. I know you’ve had a hard time in the system Emma and I’m so sorry for that, but you didn’t do anything to deserve it. However, you do deserve to be given this chance that they’re offering you. There will be a learning curve for all of you, you guys are going to fight, but, that’s all normal for families, and that’s what they’re offering you Emma, a family.”

Emma shook as she tried to fight back the tears again, she hated crying in front of people and she had done more than enough of that today. She tried to believe what Jack was saying was true, but the fears and doubts that had plagued her for her entire life screamed at her that he was wrong.

“But after what just happened they’re going to realize that I have too many issues and that it’s not worth adopting a teenager.”

“They don’t think that Emma, they weren’t mad or wanting to change to their mind, they were just concerned and wanted to know what they could do to help. We can sit up here for as long as you need, or I can leave you alone for a bit.”

“Could I just have a few minutes, I’ll come down after.”

“Of course Emma, whatever you need. What would you like to drink with dinner? I think they said they have soda, juice, milk, and iced tea.”

“Could I have a Coke?”

“Sure, I’ll see you in a bit.”

Emma watched as he walked out of the bathroom, she sat on the edge of the tub for a few moments before getting up and looking in the mirror. Her eyes and nose were red and puffy and she could see the patchy flush on her chest peaking out of the top of her shirt. She looked around before grabbing a wash cloth and soaking it in cold water, pressing it to her eyes hoping it would bring some of the redness down.

She tossed it into the basket, checked her reflection one more time and made her way out of the bathroom. She paused and looked into the bedroom again, slowly taking a step into the room again. It had been years since she had had a room to herself, and she had never had her own bathroom before. She stared out the window at the street and wondered what it would be like to live here. To wake up here every morning and not worry about being taken somewhere else, it was a hard thing to imagine when her life had always been about worrying that any mess up would make the foster family want to kick her out.

She moved over and sat on the bed and picked at her nails, she had to admit though, it would be nice to live here, and David and Mary Margaret seemed really nice. She sighed and took a deep breath before standing up again and making her way downstairs. The other three were sitting at the table, food had been dished out to each plate but no one had started eating yet. They talked quietly amongst themselves until Jack looked up and noticed Emma.

“Hey Emma, doesn’t this smells delicious, come sit down and eat.”

“It does.” She turned to face Mary Margaret and David, “Listen… I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to… you know. I just got a little overwhelmed, I’ve never really had someone really interested in adopting me, or been wanted in a house like this one before.”

“Oh Emma, it’s okay, we understand and this doesn’t change our mind about wanting to adopt you,” Mary Margaret looked up at Emma reaching over to squeeze her hand.

Emma flushed slightly and noddedd, it wasn’t usual for people to tell her the truth when it came to things like this and she had to wonder if maybe her ability to tell when people were lying was starting to wear off. But, as she looked at the two smiling reassuringly up at her, she couldn’t help but hope that everything would work out for her, just this time.

“Why don’t we sit down and eat,” David suggested.

She sat down next to Jack and picked up her fork, it had been a while since she had had a home cooked meal and the smell coming from her plate was making her mouth water.

“Mary Margaret, this is delicious!” She nodded in agreement to what Jack said.

“I can’t remember the last time I had something that tasted this good. Thank you for having us over for dinner.”

“Of course Emma.”

David beamed at them and raised his glass, “To the first of hopefully many family dinners.”

Emma murmured a cheers and raised her glass in response.

Chapter Text

Emma wiped her palms on her dress, partly to smooth it out, partly to dry her sweating palms. Mary Margaret, David, and Jack stood in the lobby of the courthouse. After their first dinner it had only taken four days for her to officially move into the Charming’s house and become their foster kid. The three of them had spent the weekend decorating her room, painting, and buying some new furniture for it. They had immediately filed the paperwork for her adoption and Jack had worked tirelessly to get all of the proper paperwork filled out.

Three months later they were waiting to be called in to make the adoption official. Emma still couldn’t believe that this day had finally come, after spending 16 years bouncing from one home to the next, to be this close to finally being a part of a family was unreal. Mary Margaret had brought her shopping for a new dress over the weekend. It was pale pink with a pleated skirt, not something she usually wore, but Mary Margaret assured her that she looked beautiful in it.

“Emma, are you coming?” She looked up and noticed that the three of them were standing inside the courtroom, looking back at her.

“Yeah, sorry.” She reached out and grasped Mary Margaret’s outstretched hand and followed them to the seats in the front.

She chewed on her lower lip as the judge began to talk, going through the basics of Emma’s case and the reason they were here today. Mary Margaret and David stood up and gave a quick introduction of themselves to the judge, explaining what they did for work, the last few months with Emma, and why they wanted to adopt. She watched as they sat back down and Jack got up and began talking about his past with Emma. Some of the previous foster homes she had been in and what had happened to her there.

He recounted her being returned from a home she had lived in for almost 3 years as a baby, the abusive homes she had been in, and the failed meetings she’d attended. He talked about her school life and grades she got despite bouncing from home to home. He told them about how well she worked with the other kids in homes and her dream of pursuing being a social worker or a police officer. And then he started talking about the Charmings.

“As you’ve heard, I’ve spent years with Emma, I’ve been on her case directly or working with someone else since she was a toddler. I’ve watched her grow, I’ve watched her hopes come up and crash, I’ve watched her be hurt more than any child should be. But, in the last three and a half months, I have seen Emma happier then I have ever seen her before. I’ve seen her smile more genuinely, be more confident with who she is, and truly open up to Mary Margaret and David. While they have had their struggles, as any teenager will with their parents, I truly believe that there is no better placement, permanent or temporary, for Emma than with the Charmings.”

Emma bit down on her lip and looked up at the ceiling as she felt the tears start to well in them. Years in the foster care system had taught her to hide her emotions and she was determined to make it through the day without crying. She clutched onto David and Mary Margaret’s hands before looking back down at the judge.

“I have to say, in all my years of doing these, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a social worker speak so highly of one of the foster kids they’ve worked with before Emma. I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this, but do you wish to be adopted by David and Mary Margaret.”

“More than anything sir. I’ve waited my whole life for a family, I never thought that it would actually be possible for me to find one, especially at almost 17 years old. Most people would just let me age out of the system, they would want a baby, not a… sometimes difficult teenager,” She paused and turned around to smile at them as she heard them laugh at that, “It’s the dream of every foster kid to find a family, or at least, it was always my dream, I can’t believe I’m actually standing here about to make it happen.”

“Well then, let’s get this finished up.”

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur, papers were signed and more people got up to speak, people laughed and cried, and Emma impatiently shifted from side to side until she heard the words she had been waiting for her entire life.

“Congratulations Emma, you are officially a member of the Charming family.”

She threw herself at them, her arms wrapping around their necks tightly as they all cried. The sound of applause echoed through the room and as she pulled away she looked and sent a beaming smile to August, sitting right in the front row for her. She looked back at the Charmings for a moment before running over to August and hugging him tightly. He hugged her back tightly and swung her around, “Emma. I’m so happy for you. Don’t get me wrong, I miss having you in Boston, but I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks August, I miss you too.”

“If we could get the new family to come up for a photo.” The judge motioned towards the front of the room where a photographer was waiting for them. Emma positioned herself between her now official parents and smiled wildly as the photographer counted to three and snapped a few photos.

After photos were done and paperwork was in hand they headed back to Storybrooke to Granny’s where everyone was waiting for them. Balloons and streamers decorated the walls and hung from the ceilings, a giant banner congratulating them all hung at the very front. They all screamed and cheered as they walked in, everyone taking turns going up to them and hugging them all.

Emma looked around at all of the people who she had gotten to know over the last three months. Belle and Ruby ran up to her and the three of them hugged tightly before finding a place off in the corner for Emma to tell them about the ceremony. As she recounted the story she noticed, out of the corner of her eye, a familiar head of dark hair that she hadn’t seen or even thought of in months.

Emma paused in the middle of her story and mumbled, “What is she doing here?”

“Who?” Belle’s face scrunched up in confusion as she looked around the diner, trying to figure out who Emma could be talking about.

“There’s a woman over there, the one in the black dress, black hair, her name is Regina, why is she here?”

“Mayor Mills?” Ruby asked, “She usually comes to the big events like these.”

“Mayor? She’s the mayor of Storybrooke?”

“Yeah… why?”

Emma looked at their confused expressions before suddenly standing up, “Excuse me.”

She walked over to where Regina was standing, interrupting her conversation with an older man that she didn’t recognize, “Can we talk?”

“Emma. I was wondering when I would run into you.”

The two walked outside of the diner before Emma whipped around and narrowed her eyes, “Mayor Mills? How did I end up in a town that you are mayor of Regina?”

“I told you dear, magic. I would change your luck, all I did was find a couple in town who were looking for a child.”

“There’s no such thing as magic Regina, this isn’t funny. Are you stalking me?”

“Emma… Emma… what do I need to do to prove it to you?” Regina chuckled bringing a hand up to run through her hair.

Emma stared at her, “Listen lady, I’m not sure how someone crazy got to be the mayor of this town, but I’m happy, I’ve got a family, just stay out of my life.”

Regina rolled her eyes before reaching out and grabbing onto Emma’s wrist, “If you’re not going to believe me I guess I’ll just have to prove it to you.” With a flick of her wrist the pair disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke and rematerialized on the opposite side of the street. Regina kept a tight grip on Emma’s wrist, knowing her first instinct would be to run away.

“What the hell?” Emma exclaimed as she stumbled to grab her balance again. She whipped her head around as she looked around, clearly now across the street from Granny’s. “How did you do that? What the hell just happened?”

“I told you. Magic. When will you listen?”

“There’s no such thing as magic, there’s no such thing as magic,” Emma muttered under her breath bringing a hand up to rub across her forehead. She stared ahead for a moment before bringing her eyes up to meet Regina’s, she tore her wrist from her grip and backed up, “Stay away from me.”

Before Regina could say anything else she turned around and ran across the street and back into the diner. Ruby and Belle were standing at the counter now and looked over as Emma came running into the diner, they immediately rushed over at the look on her face.

“Emma what’s wrong?” Belle reached out and put her hand on her shoulder, “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“Can we go somewhere private? I-I’m not sure what just happened.”

“Of course, we can use my granny’s office, follow me.”

The three walked towards the back and Ruby shut the door behind them before turning to look at Emma, “What happened?”

“You guys have to promise not to laugh okay?”

Ruby and Belle exchanged looks before nodding at Emma.

“The mayor has magic. We were standing outside of the diner and then suddenly we were on the other side of the road. I have no idea how we got there, I remember some purple smoke or something. It must have been some sort of a trick, right?”

Ruby and Belle paused for a moment before they both burst out laughing. Emma looked on in confusion and scowled at the girls in front of her, “Why are you laughing? I swear it happened guys.”

“Emma. Everyone knows Regina has magic, and she’s not the only one in town. You didn’t know?”

“What do you mean there are people in this town with magic? Stop messing with me, there’s so such thing as magic.”

“Clearly there is if you suddenly went from one area to another in a blink of an eye. Hey, how did you know Regina if you didn’t know she was the mayor?” Ruby asked.

“I met her before I came to Storybrooke.”

Ruby looked over at Belle and raised an eyebrow before they both looked over at Emma, “What do you mean that you met Regina before you came here? How?”

“When I lived in Boston I had stayed with this one foster family… they got pretty bad and I ended up leaving one night. I was sitting in this dive bar at 2am and she walked up to me and started bothering me. Wouldn’t leave me alone until I started talking back to her. She ended up driving me to a motel for the night and while we were sitting in the parking lot she mentioned something about having magic and changing my luck. I just thought she was crazy.”

“She brought up magic?” Belle asked, her eyebrows furrowing slightly in concern.

“Wait… Could she be behind why I met the Charmings? Did she do something to make them want to adopt me?”

“I don’t know Emma, I don’t know much about magic. But what I do know is that everything comes at a price, did she make you promise her anything?”

Emma thought for a moment and stared off as she thought back and replayed the conversations they had had weeks ago. All of a sudden the blood drained from her face and her eyes darted back to Belle and Ruby.

“What is it Emma?” Ruby asked.

“She made me promise her my first born.”

“Emma… you promised her your child?”

“I didn’t know she was serious! I just made a vague comment about agreeing to it, but I really didn’t think she was serious. There’s no such thing as magic!”

“Guys. What do I do?”

“You need to talk to her Emma, tell her that you didn’t realize she was serious about having magic. But with a magical contract… I don’t know if you can get out of it Emma.”

“I need to find her, did you see her come back into the diner? Where could she be?”

“Maybe her house, do you know how to get there?”

Emma shook her head and without a word they grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the diner. She shouted a, “Be back in a bit,” towards Mary Margaret’s confused expression on her way out.

The three of them made their way down the street until they got to a large white house where they stopped, Emma let out a low whistle, “This is Regina’s house?”

“It is, hopefully she’s home. Do you want us to come in with you?”

“No, I think I need to talk to her about this alone. Thank you guys though.”

Belle reached over and squeezed her arm before her and Ruby made their way back down the driveway and disappeared. Emma took a deep breath and made her way up to the front door, she stared for a moment before knocking hard on the door and taking a step back. Her eyes darted around the front of the house as she took everything in, she wondered how long she had been mayor to get a house like this, it was by far the most extravagant house she had seen in Storybrooke, more modern than the rest by far.

She turned back around as she heard the door open and came face to face with Regina, “You actually have magic.”

“I’ve been telling you that since the beginning dear, it’s not my fault that you didn’t want to listen to me.”

“But, there’s no such thing as magic, why would I have any reason to believe some random stranger in a dive bar?”

Regina just shrugged as she remained standing in front of the doorway, her arm reaching out to block the blonde from entering. She raised an eyebrow as she stared at her, her mouth hanging half open, “Was that all?”

“You made me promise you my first born, was that an actual thing?”

“It was, I confirmed with you multiple times that you were okay with doing it, you consented to a deal that was mutually beneficial. You wanted a family, I wanted a kid. Besides, you’re young.”

“I- Wha- Jus- What does that have to do with anything? You made me promise you something when you knew damn well that I didn’t believe what you were saying.”

“Dear, you asked and I told you the truth,” She stepped out of the doorway and motioned her arm in a sweeping gesture, “If you’re going to be much longer, would you care to step in and continue this conversation in private?”

She glared and crossed her arms as she followed Regina inside of the house.

“Is that the only reason the Charmings wanted to adopt me?”

“No Emma, I didn’t do anything with the Charmings, all I did was cast a spell to increase your good luck. The Charmings have been talking about adopting an older child for as long as I’ve known them. The luck spell just pushed your file towards them, you did the rest.”

“Is there a way to break it? Is there a way to not give up my first child? I don’t know if I even want to have kids.”

Regina hesitated for a moment, “Well, not really.”

“I can’t believe this!” Emma shouted stepping toward Regina, “How could you do this to someone? To a complete stranger? You knew that I was young and hurting and-and you still decided to trick a child? What kind of a person does that?”

Emma started pacing back and forth, her arms went between flying through the air as she ranted about Regina and being clenched at her sides. She glared over at her, “How do you expect to be a good parent when you would do something like this to a 16 year old? I will never hand over my child to you Regina.”

Regina’s face hardened and she flushed a bright red, her eyes cooling as she stared Emma down, “Listen Miss Swan, you had all the facts that you needed in order to consent to this agreement, the fact that you didn’t care to do enough research is not my fault. You claim to be a child, what were you doing in that bar that night then? Do not blame your foolishness on me.”

Emma narrowed her eyes her breathing heavy as she leaned in closer to Regina, they both stopped talking as they stared each other down, each just waiting for the other to break first. Emma’s hands fisted at her side, she couldn’t believe the nerve of this woman, she couldn’t imagine being an adult and tricking a teenager into giving up her first born baby without all of the facts.

“Emma, listen, what you need to know is that I didn’t go into the bar with the intention of tricking someone. I went in because I had had a horrible day. I just found out that I was rejected to adopt a baby because I’m a single woman.” Regina paused for a moment and took a step back from Emma, “They told me that I wasn’t able to adopt because my father died and I don’t have a relationship with my mother. I tried to explain about this town, to convince them that I would be able to give a child a good home.”

She looked down and took a deep breath, “I was drunk by the time I approached you and all I could think of was that I might have an opportunity to help you and to help myself. I admit that I didn’t think the consequences through all the way and I apologize for that. But, because you’ve already benefited from the deal, it can’t be broken.”

Emma’s lips stayed pursed and she continued to stare Regina down, ‘That doesn’t excuse you from what you did to me. I just, I can’t believe you would…” She shook her head and then walked out of the house.

The sound of the door slamming pierced the otherwise silent air and she walked down the street in the opposite way that Ruby and Belle had walked. She needed to be alone and she headed towards the toll bridge. She looked behind her to make sure that no one was following and walked into the woods.

She could understand that Regina was upset for not being able to adopt a child and a part of her was surprised to find out that she had wanted to adopt in the first place. She wasn’t great at estimating ages but she didn’t think that Regina was that much older than her, she had plenty of time to have a child of her own.

But still, it didn’t excuse her from deciding to trick a 16 year old into giving up her first child. She paused for a moment, physically stopping and looking up at the trees surrounding her. She had never really thought about having kids in the past. Had never been the person who had always wanted to have one, to be a mom. She didn’t even really necessarily like kids that much. Emma bit down on her lip, perhaps she had overreacted, she wondered what would happen if she never had a child.

Emma made her way over towards the bridge and sat down in the middle of it, she hung her arms over the railing and stared off at the water letting the sound of it wash over her. She bent her head down to rest on her arms and closed her eyes letting her thoughts roam more towards Regina. In her past she had encountered a lot of different people being in foster care, but this woman was something else. She couldn’t help but wonder more about what could cause a person to trick a teenager like that.

Emma raised her head as she felt a drop of rain land on her leg, she looked up just as the skies opened up and rain started pouring over her.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” She groaned before she stood up and began to run through the forest.

By the time she reached the Charming’s house Mary Margaret and David were both sitting in the living room watching a movie, Mary Margaret looked back at Emma as she heard the door open and gasped, “Emma, are you okay?”

“Yeah, just got caught in the rain. I’m going to go change.”

“Alright sweetie, come down and watch this movie with us after you’re done if you’d like.”

“Will do.”

She hurried up the stairs and shut the door, quickly stripping out of her clothes and throwing on some pajamas before heading back down and joining them in the living room. There was some romcom on the tv that she was sure Mary Margaret was forcing David to watch and she found her thoughts drifting back to her conversation with Regina.

She knew that she had to talk to her again but she wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with her. And she definitely knew that they both needed some time to cool down. She figured she would meet up with Ruby and Belle tomorrow to talk to them more about what had happened. She reached down and picked up her phone, sending off a quick group text to the girls asking if they wanted to meet up tomorrow.

“Is it okay if Ruby and Belle come over tomorrow after school?”

“Of course, you know they’re always welcome. Do they want to stay for dinner? I can order pizza.”

“That’d be great, thanks mom.” Emma froze with her thumbs hovering above the keyboard, her eyes widened as she realized what slipped out of her mouth and as she looked up she saw Mary Margaret and David staring at her, their eyes watering as they smiled over at her.

Suddenly, Mary Margaret leapt off the couch and threw her arms around Emma hugging her tightly and crying. Emma returned her hug and buried her face into Mary Margaret’s neck never seeing David pull out his phone to snap a quick photo of the two before joining them.

“You called me mom,” Mary Margaret managed to whisper out.

“Yeah, I- uh,” Emma started, unsure of what to say. She had been referring to Mary Margaret and David as her parents for a while, and in her head had called them mom and dad, but she had never let the names slip to them.

“I love you so much Emma,” Mary Margaret said, pulling away but keeping her hands on Emma’s shoulders as she looked at her, her eyes full of love.

“I love you too.”

David put his hand over Mary Margaret’s and squeezed it lightly. The three sat there for a few moments longer before returning to their spots on the couch and resuming the movie. Mary Margaret reached an arm around Emma and pulled her closer as Emma laid her head down on her shoulder. She smiled at the TV and gave a small shake of her head, in all her years she never would have imagined this could be her life.

Chapter Text

“So, what are you going to do?” Ruby asked. The three girls sat on Emma’s bed, a pizza in the middle of them. They were alternating between eating, talking about school, and Emma telling them more about what had happened when she ran into Regina.

“I don’t know. I mean. I don’t know if I even want kids, you know? I’m still young. What happens if I never have a kid?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I could talk to Mr. Gold if you’d like.” Belle suggested.

“Would you mind? I know he’s kind of scary, and your boss, but I really don’t know what to do.”

“Of course.”

“She’s kind of hot.” Ruby mumbled as she chewed on her pizza.

“Ruby!” Emma exclaimed, “What on Earth about tricking a teenager into giving up her first baby makes her hot?”

“I mean. Apart from that, you can’t deny that she’s good looking,” Ruby shrugged.

Emma rolled her eyes before tossing a pillow at Ruby, the slice of pizza falling from her hands onto the bed and Ruby shot her a death glare, “You’re going to pay for that Swan.”

Belle quickly jumped in and grabbed the pizza, moving it to the desk just as Ruby dove on top of Emma and grabbed another pillow, whacking her in the face with it hard. Emma squealed and tried to wiggle her way out from underneath Ruby. Belle laughed grabbing her phone to record their antics, “I swear you guys are still children.”

“She started it!” Ruby yelled out.

“Not really disproving my point there Rubes.”

“Don’t call me Rubes, it sounds like pubes.”

Emma stopped and stared at her and raised her eyebrow, “Seriously?”

“What? It does.” She climbed off of Emma and flopped back down on the bed.

Emma and Belle exchanged a look and shook their heads, “Sometimes I wonder how you’re a year older than us.”

Ruby just shrugged before getting up and grabbing a new piece of pizza, “You know you love me.”

***

“Emma, your birthday is coming up, what do you want to do for it?” Mary Margaret asked as they sat down for dinner one night.

“Ah, I don’t care, birthdays aren’t a big deal for me.”

“You’re turning 17, you’re almost an adult! We need to do something, how about a party? We could do it at Granny’s.”

“I guess.”

Emma moved the food around her plate, not really eating any of it. Other than August getting her a cupcake each year she couldn’t remember the last time she had done something for her birthday. She was sure her first foster family had done something for her, but the homes she’d been in after that had never really cared about things like that. It was just one more unnecessary expense for a kid that wasn’t really theirs.

“Or, you could just have Ruby and Belle over here,” David suggested noticing the look on Emma’s face.

“But it’s her 17th birthday David.”

He nudged her foot under the table and gave her a pointed stare, trying to subtly point out Emma’s current face. Mary Margaret paused and let out a quiet, “Oh.”

“I’m sorry Emma. I didn’t mean to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to for your birthday. Sometimes I forget that you didn’t have the childhood you deserved.”

“It’s okay, it wasn’t all horrible, I just really have never done anything for my birthday before that I can remember. My friend back in Boston, August, he used to buy me a cupcake for my birthday each year and sometimes his mom would invite me over for dinner, but that was really the only thing I did.”

Mary Margaret reached over and squeezed her hand, “Well whatever you want to do for your birthday this year sweetie, we’ll make it happen. Whether it’s a big party or a quiet night in, we just want you to be happy.”

Emma smiled back at her, “I’m sure I’ll warm up to the idea eventually, a party does sound like fun.”

***

“Emma! Happy birthday!” Ruby shouted as soon as she had entered the diner, a chorus of happy birthdays following. Mary Margaret had talked her into throwing her birthday party at Granny’s and the entire place had been done up in balloons and streamers, Granny had cooked Emma’s favorite foods, and most of the junior class from Storybrooke had showed up.

Emma looked slightly uncomfortable with all of the attention she was receiving but went over to hug Ruby, “Thanks Ruby, I’m glad you could make it.”

“Are you kidding? Nothing was keeping me away from my best friend’s birthday party.”

Emma smiled and they made their way to the counter to grab a couple of drinks. They looked over and saw Belle talking to one of the boys in their grade, “So what’s going on with Belle and… what’s his name?” Ruby asked.

“That’s Emmett, he’s had a crush on Belle for a while and I convinced her to talk to him tonight.”

“Aww… our little Belle is growing up. Speaking of dating, I haven’t seen you date a guy since you got here. What’s up with that?”

Emma coughed on the sip she had just taken, “I- uh, I’ve just been getting used to Storybrooke, you know.”

“Emma, you’ve been here for almost a year. That’s more than enough time to get used to it.”

She rolled her eyes and started looking around the diner, “You can’t tell me you don’t have a crush on anyone, there’s a lot of cute guys in your class.”

Emma fidgeted uncomfortably next to her, looking for a way to get out of the conversation.

“Unless… is there a girl you have a crush on?”

Emma froze and bit down on her lip.

“Emma Swan, how could you not tell me?!”

“Ruby! I don’t want to talk about it.”

“But why not, don’t you-”

Emma whipped around and glared at her, “Ruby. Stop.”

“Fine, but, we’re talking about this later Emma.”

“No. We’re not,” Emma said before walking away going to join a couple of kids in her class.

***

Emma sat at one of the tables outside at Granny’s waiting for Regina to join her. After allowing some time to pass for things to calm down, she had decided to get together with the mayor again to try and figure some things out. Ruby was leaving for NYU tomorrow and she couldn’t believe that she would be beginning her senior year just a few weeks later.

She pulled out a notebook and began writing down a list of things she needed to get done over the next few weeks to prepare for it. The sound of the chair scraping against the ground pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up, giving a small smile to the mayor.

“Hello Emma.”

“Regina.”

“How has your summer been?”

“It’s been good, Belle, Ruby, and I have been hanging out a lot since Ruby will be leaving for NYU tomorrow. How about yours?”

“Busy, I’m sorry your friend is leaving.”

“Thanks, hopefully I’ll be joining her next year.”

“Well, I wish you luck. You wanted to get together to talk some more?”

“Yeah, I just. I want to try to understand more about why you did what you did.”

“Well, when I was young I was in a car accident. There were complications and I was told that I’ll never be able to carry a baby to term, if I’m able to get pregnant at all. But, I always knew that I wanted to have a child. I was hoping to be able to adopt as a single woman, but I’ve been turned down multiple times now. You happened to meet me on the night of one of those rejections, as you know. I just. I was in a bad place, and I didn’t go into that bar intending to find, things just kind of happened and before I knew it I was making a deal with you.”

“How many times have you been rejected?”

“That was my fifth rejection.”

“Why do you keep getting rejected?” Emma shifted in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest.

“It’s the same reason every time, I’m a single woman with no real support system.”

“Did you ever think maybe you just weren’t meant to have a baby?”

Emma winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth as she watched Regina’s eyes narrow, her demeanor instantly changing to be more defensive.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. But just, after being rejected 5 times and the accident, it just doesn’t seem, I don’t know.” Emma stuttered, trying to backtrack to what she had said.

“If the only reason you called me here today was to berate me again about what happened and to tell me that I don’t deserve a family, we’re done here Miss Swan.” With that Regina stood and stalked away from the table.

Emma sighed and rubbed her forehead, she honestly hadn’t meant to offend Regina, it had just come out. One of these days she’d learn to stop putting her foot into her mouth.

***

Emma and Ruby were sitting on her bed as they scrolled through Netflix. It was Ruby’s last night in town and Belle unfortunately was working. The two had decided to have one last sleepover before she left. Ruby put the remote down before turning and looking at Emma.

“Emma, you know I’m gay right?”

“Uh, little out of left field there Ruby…”

“Sorry, I just. Our conversation from your birthday party has been weighing on me and I didn’t want to leave without talking about it some more. I just wanted to make sure you know that you have someone you can talk to.”

Emma went quiet at that and looked up at the TV letting what Ruby had said process. In the system things were hard enough, she couldn’t have imagined ever telling anyone that she wasn’t completely straight. She had learned the hard way what could happen when someone let that out about them. The screams and cries of one of her foster brothers would always be in her head. He hadn’t even meant to tell anyone, but after being caught with his boyfriend by another one of the foster kids, he couldn’t keep it hidden any longer.

Their foster father had beaten him to within an inch of his life, screaming at him that he was a deranged child that no one would ever want, that he didn’t deserve to be on this Earth, and that being gay was one of the worst sins he could commit. That had been enough to confirm her suspicious, staying as far in the closet as possible was the best choice for her.

But, things were different now, weren’t they? Or, would David and Mary Margaret turn on her if she let it be known that she liked guys and girls? But Ruby was her best friend. And if she told her to keep the secret, she would. Right? She looked over to where Ruby was still staring at her.

“Emma, you can talk to me about it.” Ruby said, turning to face Emma in a more comfortable position. She reached out and put a hand on Emma’s shoulder squeezing it gently.

Emma looked at her, pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath, “When I was in one of my foster homes, I watched a 14 year old be beaten to the point of almost dying. We had to call the cops after they had went to bed and we were all removed from the home after that. But, the foster father had found out that Elijah had been kissing another boy at school, and he just. He went crazy. I’ve seen some pretty bad things in foster homes, but I’ll never forget his screams that night. The rest of us were shut in our room, I was 12 at the time, then there was a 4 year old and a 17 year old as well. We tried to block it out… but we just couldn’t. And we couldn’t do anything to help. I just.”

Ruby reached over and wrapped her arms around her hugging her tightly, Emma resting her head against her shoulder as she felt the tears running down her face.

“I’m so sorry Em.” She rubbed her hands over Emma’s back lightly.

“I know deep down that Mary Margaret and David would never do anything like that, but, the idea of sharing that piece of me. I just. I can’t.”

“It’s okay, I’m so sorry Emma. If I had known, I never would have pushed you about it.”

“But you didn’t know, it’s okay.”

They pulled away from each other and wiped the tears from their eyes, Ruby leaned back and rested her head against the wall, Emma sat back and rested her head on Ruby’s shoulder. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe deeply, trying to not think about that night.

“I’m not gay though, I do like men too.”

Ruby chuckled, “Thank you for telling me Emma. You know I won’t tell anyone about it right?”

“I do and thank you. I’ll come out eventually, but I’m just not ready yet.”

“Well, the whole idea of coming out bothers me anyways. Why should we have to announce our sexuality when people who are straight don’t? It just seems strange to me.”

Emma laughed and nodded in agreement, “It has always seemed just a little weird to me, ‘coming out’ what does that even mean? And, why pick a closet to hide in?”

They two of the girls paused for a moment before bursting out laughing. The movie had been long forgotten and Ruby moved to lay down on the bed completely, staring up at the ceiling. Emma paused for a moment before copying her. The laughter died down between them and Ruby looked over at her, “Have you ever kissed a girl?”

Emma bit her lip and turned to face Ruby, just barely shaking her head, “I was always too afraid to, what if it got back to a foster parent like Elijah?”

Ruby nodded, unconsciously licking her lips, her eyes drifting down to Emma’s lips and back up to meet her eyes. The two fell quiet their eyes not breaking contact until Emma closed her and slowly leaned in, pressing her lips against Ruby’s. She froze for a moment before slowly parting her lips and pressing lightly into Ruby’s hand that was now resting on her cheek.

The two parted and kissed a couple more times before Emma slowly drew back, her eyes still closed. She pressed her lips lightly against Ruby’s one more time before she opened her eyes to find Ruby smiling back at her. She flushed and threw herself back on her pillow and giggled. Ruby turned herself completely to her side and propped her head up on her hand.

“So, how was that for your first lesbian kiss?” She smirked down at Emma.

Emma looked over and lightly hit her arm, “Eh. Could have been better.”

She looked over at Ruby’s shocked face and burst out laughing, squeaking as suddenly she felt Ruby land on top of her, straddling her waist as her fingers reached out to tickle her. She squirmed as she tried to fight her way out from underneath her friend.

“Admit it was good!” Ruby laughed.

Emma tried to press her lips together, giggles escaping as she attempted to refuse giving in. She wiggled back and forth beneath her friend before finally crying out, “Fine! It was good. God, stop!”

Ruby stopped tickling her and rolled back off of her, crossing her hands on top of her stomach. Emma turned her head slightly and watched her friend out of the corner of her eye as she stared up at the ceiling. She wondered if this had been a bad idea, but she had been caught up in the moment, the emotions that came from coming out for the first time. She bit her lip.

“So… was that just to see what it was like kissing a girl or?” Ruby trailed off.

“I uh, I’m not sure.”

“Well… have you ever thought of me like that before or?”

Emma paused and looked up at the ceiling again, “I’m not really sure, I’ve tried really hard to just forget about it and not think about girls that way.”

“So… do you want to do it again?”

Emma let out a nervous laugh before turning her head to look at Ruby, “I mean… maybe? Would that, would that be okay?”

Ruby nodded before bringing her hand up to cup Emma’s face, she looked at her for a moment before closing her eyes and capturing her lips with hers again. She kissed her slowly, softly brushing her lips against her friend’s. Emma shifted onto her side so she was facing Ruby completely before bringing her hand up to rest on her hip and deepening the kiss, brushing her tongue against her lips and moaning softly as their tongues met for the first time.

Ruby rolled Emma back onto her back before climbing on top of her, resting her arms on either side of her groaning softly as she felt Emma’s hands come up, running along her back and sides.

Emma groaned softly as Ruby rolled her onto her back, her hands coming up to run along her sides and back, Ruby’s hair falling forward and tickling her cheek. Her legs fell slightly to the side allowing Ruby to settle completely on top of her. Ruby ran her tongue along Emma’s lip before pulling back and nipping at it gently.

She bit her lip as Ruby started trailing kisses down her jaw to her neck and nipping at her neck, sucking gently on it. She felt hands slipping under her shirt, nails trailing over her sides and stomach and slowly moving higher til they were just under her breasts. She froze for a moment, her body suddenly stiffening under Ruby’s.

“Is this okay Emma?”

“Uh, yeah, I just, I’ve never really done this with anyone before.”

“We can stop and watch the rest of the movie if you want.”

She looked up at Ruby who was now propping herself up on her forearms and staring down at her. She bit her lip and nodded slightly, “If you don’t mind…”

“Of course not Ems.” She leaned down and kissed her once more softly before sliding off of her.

Emma sighed softly before looking up at the credits rolling on the TV, “I guess we might need to find a new movie…”

***

“Emma, how are you doing?”

“Good, all of my applications are in so I’m just waiting to hear back.”

“Great, and you decided going with social work correct?”

“Yeah, there is a lot about the adoption and foster care system that needs to be revised, and there needs to be more adopted and former foster kids involved in it.” She blushed as the woman smiled at her.

“That’s great Emma, you’re going to do wonderful things for foster kids.”

“Thank you.”

“Your grades are looking great so far this year, just make sure you keep it up, and I see on top of the track team you also joined the newspaper?”

“Yeah, Belle needed some extra help with it and I figured it would look good on my applications.”

“That’s great, have you decided on a service learning project yet? They’ll start in January after winter break and we have a lot of suggestions if you’re stuck.”

“I’m not really sure yet, I was debating just helping out at the animal shelter with my dad, but I’m definitely open to suggestions.”

“Well, I’m not sure if you know this but we do have the community center that has a couple of programs that really cater to the foster kids in Storybrooke, they’re always looking for volunteers, so if that’s something you’re interested in I can connect you with them.”

“Oh wow, really? That would be amazing.”

“Of course, I’ll send them an email and copy you to it.”

“Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome Emma, is there anything else I can help you with, or do you have any questions?”

“I think I’m okay for now, thank you though.”

“Great, I’ll see you after winter break.”

***

“Emma, Emma, Emma, you came back!”

She laughed as the 6 year old came running up to her, flinging her arms around her legs.

“Hey Millie, how are you doing? I told you I would!”

“I’m good, can we go play?”

“I need to put my stuff in the office but then I’ll be out to help with your homework, then we’ll play.”

She laughed as she watched Millie nod before running off to play with a couple of other kids her age. She made her way into the back office and threw her backpack into a locker. She had been coming to the center for the last three months and she honestly could say it was one of the best parts of her week. When she had started she came once a week and was now up to three times.

A lot of the kids reminded her of herself at their age and Millie in particular had caught her affections. The little blonde girl was the most excited to see her each week and Emma had to admit that she had a particular soft spot for her.

“Hey Emma, how’s it going?” Tina, one of the fellow volunteers asked as she walked into the office.

“Oh you know, all that senior year stress.”

“You can always cut back here if you need Emma.”

“No. Definitely not. I can’t let these kids down.”

“You won’t be letting them down, but you do need to put yourself first.”

“I know, I’ll be fine. My grades aren’t suffering or anything like that.”

“That’s good, alright, I’ll see you out there.”

***

“Well? Emma? Are you going to open it?” Mary Margaret handed Emma a couple of envelopes that had come from NYU and University of Maine while she had been at school.

She flipped them over in her hands, trying to figure out whether they were acceptance or rejection letters by the size of the letters alone.

“Would you mind if I opened them in my room?”

“Of course not, will you let me know what they said later?”

Emma nodded before walking up to her room, pulling her phone out on the way and shooting a text to the group she, Ruby, and Belle had letting them know a couple of her letters had arrived. She was still waiting to hear back from 5 colleges, but NYU was one of her top choices. Belle had received her acceptance letter a couple of day ago and Ruby had started there this past August.

She closed her door and climbed up onto her bed, setting the letters down in front of her. She took a couple of deep breaths before reaching down for the one by University of Maine. She opened it up and quickly pulled out the letter mumbling under her breath, “Congratulations Emma Swan, we would like to offer you a spot at College Name for the Fall 2018 semester- Yes!”

She sighed in relief, this had been her first letter from a college and seeing it was an acceptance she sighed in relief. She picked up the letter from NYU and sighed, while she had applied to a couple of schools in NYC she was really hoping to get into NYU. She flipped the letter over a few times before slowly opening it. The tops of the paper revealed nothing and her heart was pounding in her throat as she pulled the papers out and unfolded it.

“Congratu-YES!” She jumped off of her bed and screamed again, spinning around and jumping up and down in excitement as her bedroom door flew open, Mary Margaret looking at her expectedly.

“I got into both!”

“Emma! That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!” She rushed to take her into her arms and hugged her tightly.

Emma threw her arms around Mary Margaret and hugged her back, “Thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you and Dad.”

“Come on. We need to celebrate!”

“Let me just text Ruby and Belle, I’ll meet you downstairs.”

As Mary Margaret walked out she heard her phone start to vibrate, Ruby and Belle’s photos showing up in a group video call.

“Well??” Ruby exclaimed as soon as she hit answer.

“I GOT IN!”

They both screeched before all three laughed and started cheering realizing this meant they’d all be together again next year.

***

“I hear congratulations are in order Miss Swan,” Regina said as she ran into Emma standing outside of the diner.

“Thank you, I got two more acceptance letters this week as well. I’m just waiting on 3 more.”

“That’s great. Have you decided where you’re going yet?”

“Not yet, part of me wants to stay near Storybrooke so I can continue volunteering at the community center, but Ruby is already in NYC and Belle sent in her confirmation for NYU as soon as she got the letter.”

“Well, either way I’m sure you’ll do great.”

Emma smiled back at her, “Thanks.” Things were still strained between the two but after getting together with Regina again she was able to smooth out her previous blunder and the two were working on becoming more civil around each other. Regina had opened up and told a Emma a bit about her childhood and they had begun to bond over having some similar experiences.

“Anyways, I’ll let you get back to where you were going, I just wanted to congratulate you.” Regina smiled before straightening her blouse and walking in the opposite direction.

Chapter Text

“So, Emma. Senior Ball. Who are you going with?”

Belle and Emma were in Emma’s room finishing up homework for the night. Bailey was on the bed, her head resting in Emma’s lap.

“I’m not sure yet, how about you?”

“Same here, John from 4th period asked me.”

“He’s cute. No one has asked me yet, and I’m not sure if there is really anyone I want to ask either.”

“No one has caught your eye?”

Emma paused for a moment too long and blushed as Belle shot her a look, “Who?!”

“No one, they don’t go to school here anyways.”

“Don’t tell me you still like Ruby…”

“God no. We both agreed we were better off as friends months ago.”

“Then who? Is it someone you met at the community center? Oh! Or is it your friend? Back in Boston?”

“August? Nah, he’s more of a brother than anything to me.”

“Then who?”

“I don’t know, it’s really nothing, honest.”

“Fine, don’t tell me.”

Emma rolled her eyes, “As soon as I decide who I’m going with I’ll let you know. Promise.”

***

Regina walked down the path exiting the cafe as she looked up and saw a familiar blonde walking her way, “Miss Swan, twice in a week.”

“It’s almost like you’re following me,” Emma shot back, her eyes roaming over the Mayor’s form, she was wearing a short pencil skirt and she had to admire the way it hugged her hips.

Regina raised an eyebrow as she watched Emma’s eyes linger on her lower half. The last couple of times they had gotten together to try and talk things through she had thought she noticed Emma’s eyes lingering on her, but this was the first time she had noticed the girl blatantly checking her out. While she was now 18, she couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable under the young girl’s stare, she shifted her weight and cleared her throat, drawing Emma’s attention upwards immediately.

Emma flushed as she realized she’d been caught, “I need to go, I’m meeting Belle, nice seeing you Madam Mayor.”

She quickly ducked into the cafe she was meeting Belle in and groaned as she met Belle’s eyes, knowing she had witnessed the awkward moment between the two.

“What was that with the mayor just now?”

“I have no idea, I just… her skirt… stop looking at me like that Belle. I’m young and gay and that skirt might as well be painted onto her. What do you want me to do?”

Belle groaned and put her head into her hands, “But what about what she did to you?”

“I know,” She hissed, “I’m not interested in her like that, she’s way older, she fucked me over, I just was noticing how nice her legs looked in her skirt… just drop it Belle.”

Emma got up and walked over to the counter to place her order. She had been telling the truth, she wasn’t interested in the mayor, she was just starting to notice she had some nice… assets… to look at.

***

Emma sat in one of the hard folding chairs in the overly hot gym of Storybrooke High. It was June 22nd and she was graduating today. She couldn’t believe she had reached this point and she looked around at the people she had grown to know, everyone talking excitedly amongst each other as they waited for the ceremony to start. She just wished that Belle was sitting next to her instead of towards the front.

“Did you decide where you’re going next year Emma?” Ashley asked, a girl she recognized from a couple of classes over the couple of years she had been at Storybrooke High.

“I did, I’m going to NYU. My friend Ruby is up there already and Belle will be going as well. How about you?”

“I’m headed down to North Carolina State, I’ve always wanted to move there, I’m excited to get out of Storybrooke. Besides, my boyfriend has a football scholarship there, and I just couldn’t go far from him.”

“I’m sure you’ll love it.”

They quieted down as the principal started the ceremony. She watched as person after person got up and gave their speech. They talked about the journey through high school and what was coming for all of them in college. About the lessons they had learned and how they would carry them through the rest of their lives.

It passed in a blur and before Emma knew it names were being called. She watched her fellow classmates get up and one by one cross the stage. Finally, it was her turn and she was being called to walk across the stage. She took a deep breath before walking out from behind the makeshift curtain. She took the diploma as it was handed to her and shook everyone’s hands before turning to the audience and holding it up, sending a beaming smile out towards the audience.

She heard Mary Margaret and David screaming and looked over to see Millie jumping up and down next to them. She gave her a small wave as she thought back to the day Mary Margaret and David had decided to take in Millie

***

Flashback

“Emma, is that you?” Mary Margaret yelled as the front door closed.

“Yeah, sorry, I got held up late at the center.”

“That’s okay sweetie, could you come into the kitchen?”

Emma dropped her bag on the stairwell and hung her coat up in the closet before making her way in, David and Mary Margaret already sitting at the counter. She paused as she felt her stomach knot with worry, “Is everything okay?”

“Of course, we just wanted to talk to you about something.” David said, smiling over at her.

Emma hesitated before taking a seat across from them, “…okay?”

“Well Emma, we got a call from the agency today about a foster kid who needs placement here in Storybrooke. Her current foster family is unable to continue providing care for her and they wanted to know if David and I would consider fostering her. Of course, this is a decision that is for all three of us to make.” Mary Margaret began.

“You guys are still registered to be foster parents?”

“We are, you never know what’s going to happen and we thought it would be best to keep our registration up to date in case of an emergency.” David said.

“And you guys want to take in a new foster kid?”

“Well, we do have an extra room, but if it’s something that you’re not comfortable with yet, we won’t. They sent us her picture and a little bit about her if you’d like to see who it is?” Mary Margaret asked, pushing the manila folder in front of her towards Emma.

Emma nodded and opened it, her eyes widening as she spotted the familiar looking girl in the photo, “Millie? But she didn’t say anything to me at the center about her foster parents…”

“You know her sweetie?” Mary Margaret asked.

“Yeah, we’ve gotten pretty close at the center. I’d love it if she came to stay here. Really.”

“You’re sure you’re okay with it?” David asked, reaching over the counter to place his hand on top of Emma’s.

“Of course, I love Millie, she’s a really great girl, she deserves a foster home with foster parents like you guys.”

She smiled back at the two of them, seeing Millie at the center was one of the highlights of her week, she enjoyed the little girl’s bubbly personality and was more than a little bit excited about her coming to stay with them.

***

She sent her a wink before making her way off the stage and back to her seat. As the principal got back up again to close out the ceremony she looked around and laughed as hats flew into the air. She looked at the design Mary Margaret had helped her with, a simple swan wearing a NYU sweater and smiled as she tossed it into the air.

Emma hugged the people around her as they reminisced about their high school years and talked about their plans this summer. She spotted her hat and quickly moved to pick it up, placing it back on her head before going to look for Belle.

She spotted her talking to her dad before running over and throwing herself at the smaller girl letting out a small squeal, “We did it!”

Belle laughed and wrapped her arms around Emma squeezing her back just as tight, “Can you believe we’re going to college in just a few months?!”

“Girls! Smile!” Belle’s dad shouted as she motioned for the two of them to look over at his camera. They rolled their eyes, knowing they were in for quite a few photos being taken today but relented, turning to face him, matching smiles on their faces.

“Emma! Emma!” Millie shouted as she ran at full speed towards her, David and Mary Margaret rushing behind her.

“Hey Millie!” Emma smiled down at her, ruffling her hair before reaching up and taking her cap off, putting it on top of Millie’s head, laughing as it fell into her eyes.

“We’re so proud of you Emma!” Mary Margaret said as her and David wrapped her into a tight hug.

“Thank you, I couldn’t have done this without you mom and dad.”

***

“I’m going to miss you so much Emma, but you’re not really that far away, and we can always come down and see you or pick you up when you need.” Mary Margaret said, almost as though she was reassuring herself and not Emma.

“I’m going to miss you guys too.”

Mary Margaret, David, Millie, and Emma stood in the dorm room she’d be sharing with Belle. Mary Margaret had been crying throughout the whole day and David looked frazzled as he tried to calm her down.

“We should let Emma get settled in, and we still need to get on the road to get back to Storybrooke tonight.” David said.

“I can’t believe you’re staying here,” Mary Margaret said as she wrapped Emma in another hug.

She laughed as she hugged her back, “That’s how college works mom. I’ll call you though. Promise.”

“I know, but still, you’re our baby.”

David wrapped his arms around the two of them squeezing them both as Millie, not wanting to be left out, squeezed into the center of all of them, wrapping her arms around Emma’s waist. The bond between the two girls had only grown since Millie had come to live with them and she was really going to miss seeing her.

“I love you guys so much.”

“We love you too Emma.”

They hugged one last time before Emma watched her parents and foster sister walk through the door, she closed it behind them before sitting down on her bed and letting the silence envelope her. Belle would be coming tomorrow and she laid down to stare at the ceiling as she debated what she wanted to do with her first night in NYC.

Chapter Text

4 years later

Emma opened the door to the small apartment she had been able to find in Storybrooke, she had just recently moved back and would be working as a social worker at the same community center she had volunteered at in high school. Mary Margaret, David, Millie, and her had spent the entire day yesterday moving boxes and furniture into her apartment and she was hoping to get at least some of them unpacked today.

She set the groceries on the table, turned on some music on her phone, and set to work putting things away. It was going to be strange living alone after rooming with Belle and Ruby for the last three years. While Belle had decided to stay in New York City after being offered a job in the New York Public Library Ruby would be moving back to town at the end of the summer. Her Granny was getting older and needed some help running the diner.

She hummed along with the music alternating between putting groceries away and going through the boxes of kitchen supplies that had been stacked on the floor near the fridge. It was strangely silent in the apartment after being surrounded by constant noise from Ruby and Belle and she debated heading over to her parent’s house to steal Bailey for a bit.

Her parents had been so excited when Emma had told them that she had decided to move back to Storybrooke, she had debated staying in New York City but when the head of the center had reached out to her, she knew she had to take the position. While the center had offered some amazing programs when she volunteered there, she had quite a few ideas for making it even better now that she was on the staff.

The quietness enveloped her until it got to be too much. She stood up and grabbed her purse before heading out to the old yellow bug she had bought in New York City. She patted the top of it before climbing in and heading towards the shelter that David was working at.

“Hey Emma, what are you doing here?”

“My apartment is too quiet, I figured I’d come down and visit with some of the animals.”

“Well, we’ve got a few who still haven’t gone for walks today if you want to take them.”

“Sure.”

She headed over to the cages that David had motioned at and knelt down in front of one of the dogs. She put her hand up to the cage, letting the dog sniff at her hand, before standing up and grabbing the leash. David grabbed one of the others and attached the leash to the collar of the dog in the cage next to her and the two made their way outside.

“Have you thought of adopting a dog of your own?”

“I did, I’m not sure though, I think I want to see how work goes and make sure I have enough time for a dog.”

“Understandable. Well, if you decide to adopt one of these guys, let me know.”

“Of course.”

“We’re so glad that you decided to move back home Emma. I know that Millie is beyond excited to have you back as well.”

“Me too, as much as I loved the big city, I missed you guys. Also, now I get to see little Neal grow up as well, I can’t believe how big he’s getting.”

David chuckled, “Neither can your mother or I. It seems like each day he’s learning something new.”

The two fell quiet as they continued to walk the dogs around the building. Emma could still remember the day that Mary Margaret had told her that she was pregnant. It happened not long after Millie’s adoption had gone through and Emma had worried about how she would take it. But, Millie might have been more excited than anyone about the new baby. She had been the doting big sister from day one and there had been many times Mary Margaret and David had been grateful for the help she offered.

Now, he was almost two years old and Emma loved seeing how much he was learning each day. She helped David put the dogs back into their cages after they got back to the shelter and just as she was unlocking the cage her phone rang.

“Hey Ruby.”

“Hey, where are you? Belle and I came down for the weekend.”

“Oh my god, really?! I’m at the shelter helping David with some of the dogs.”

“We’ll be there soon!”

She hung up the phone and before she could turn to David he said, “Do you need to go?”

“I’m okay for a little bit longer. Belle and Ruby came to Storybrooke for the weekend. They’re going to meet me here though.”

“Well, some of the cats could use some attention too if you want to stay around here and I can finish up walking the dogs.”

“Sure, thanks dad.” Emma made her way towards the cat section of the shelter, shutting the door behind her. While she was more of a dog person, she had to admit some of the cats she’d met at the shelter in the past had wormed their ways into her heart and made her like them as well.

She unlocked the door of one of the cages and watched as the black cat stretched, yawned, and came padding up to the door, meowing at her. She brought her hand up for her to sniff smiling as the cat started purring and rubbed up against her.

“Hey girl, want to come out and play?”

She stepped back and let her jump out of the cage, the cat stretched her legs as she sniffed at different toys around the room, Emma grabbed a couple of the wand toys before sitting on the floor with the cat. She whipped them back and forth on the floor laughing as the cat chased them back and forth. She left the toy on the floor as she went to check her food and refreshed the water in the bowl. As she was scooping out the litterbox she heard a knock on the door and turned around to see Ruby and Belle standing there.

She crossed the room, picked up the cat, and put her back into her cage before letting them into the room, hugging both of them as they entered.

“What are you guys doing here?!”

“Well, Belle’s got a few days before her jobs starts so we figured we’d come down here to visit everyone, and I’ve really got to start looking for an apartment.”

“Do you guys want to stay here or go to Granny’s?”

“Granny’s, we haven’t eaten all day.” Ruby said.

Emma laughed before motioning for them to leave the room, “Let me just tell dad bye and we can go.

She headed towards the back of the shelter, “We’re heading to grab food, I’ll see you guys tomorrow for dinner right?”

“Yeah, 5pm, I think Mary Margaret is making pot roast.”

“Sounds great, see you guys then.”

She hugged him before making her way back towards the front of the shelter where Ruby and Belle were waiting for her.

“So have you seen your lady crush since you’ve been back?” Ruby teased.

“Mention it again and I’ll kill you. I highly regret ever telling you that I found her slightly attractive.”

“I think the words that you used were ‘smoking hot’.”

“I was drunk, give me a break.” Emma rolled her eyes.

They walked down the street as Ruby continued to tease Emma about her former crush on the mayor.

“So, did you guys ever figure out what to do about the deal?” Belle asked, interrupting Ruby’s teasing.

“No, I avoided Regina as much as I could before I left and we haven’t really spoken since I got back. I’m really not sure how to handle the whole situation.”

Belle held the door for the two as they entered the diner adding as Emma entered, “Why don’t you just be a surrogate for her? Would that work?”

Emma paused, “Actually… I’m not sure.”

“That’s a good idea, technically your first born child, but never planning on actually keeping it. She gets her baby, you don’t have to worry about the deal, seems like a win win to me.”

The three fell silent as Granny approached their table, “It has been far too long since I saw you three, do you girls want your regulars or have things changed?”

“Regulars.” They all said, laughing as she went around the table hugging each of them before walking back to the kitchen to place their order.

“Maybe you should talk to Regina about that.”

“I will. Anyways, enough about that. Belle, how excited are you about starting work at the New York City Public Library?”

“I can’t even put it into words, it’s quite literally a dream come true. I’ll be starting out under the children’s librarian but I hope to eventually move to being one myself, unless there’s a way for me the travel as well, then I’ll pick that.”

Emma nodded, Belle had been talking about wanting to see the world for as long as she had known her, “They’re lucky to have you.”

“How about you Emma, I thought for sure you would have stayed in New York City as well,” Ruby asked.

“I was really tempted to, but when the director of the center called and offered me the position, I couldn’t turn it down. So much of the reason why I ended up pursuing social work instead of law enforcement began at the center. And, she’ll be giving me a lot of leeway as far as what I want to change program wise. I already have so many ideas for it, I can’t wait to get started.”

“I bet.”

Emma was pulled from the conversation as she saw a familiar brunette walk into the diner, she hoped she was just here to pick up food, but winced as she saw her sit down at the counter. She was lost in looking at the menu and she took the rare moment to really look at Regina. She trailed her eyes over the long legs only half covered by one of those pencil skirts that always dragged her eyes towards her ass. A tight blouse let just a peek of skin show through on her back and as Emma let her eyes drift upwards she flushed as her eyes met Regina’s knowing stare.

She immediately looked back at Ruby and Belle who had long since caught on that Emma was no longer paying attention to what was going on at the table. She wondered how long the food had been in front of her and she busied herself with picking up a french fry, hoping her friends would just leave it.

“Those pencil skirts…” Ruby trailed off.

Emma tossed a french fry at her without looking up, “I hate you.”

Belle and Ruby both burst out laughing, dragging attention to their table and Emma winced as she saw Regina stand up and make her way over to the table.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” She mumbled, praying that for once her friends would behave.

“Miss Swan, I heard you were coming back to town, I see not much has changed.” Regina trailed off as she raked her eyes over Ruby, turning her lip up and grimacing slightly.

“Yeah, I was offered the head social work position at the center, I couldn’t turn that down.”

“I heard. Congratulations. If you have time later this week I’d like you to stop by. Alone.”

Ruby waggled her eyebrows at Emma, causing her to shoot her a glare before she looked back up at Regina, “Sure, I should be free later this week. Just shoot me a call and we can set up a place to meet.”

With a curt nod and not another word Regina walked back to the counter, taking a seat and waiting for Granny to make her way over.

“Ooh, you’re in trouble,” Ruby teased.

“You would have thought that college would have forced you to mature even slightly Ruby.” Emma rolled her eyes.

“You wouldn’t want me any other way, you know that.”

Belle shook her head at the two, “I’m going to miss you guys.”

“Way to make it depressing,” Ruby sighed.

***
Emma smoothed her hands over her shirt after ringing the doorbell at Regina’s house. They had agreed to meet today to discuss the agreement a bit more. She had talked with Ruby and Belle more about what she could do and they’d come up with everything from being a surrogate to just seeing what time brought.

She looked up as Regina opened the door and stepped aside to allow her to enter, “Miss Swan, can I get you a drink?”

“Sure, a cider would be great.” She passed her and walked into the kitchen before taking a seat at the island.

Regina went about pouring them both a glass of cider before sitting across from her.

“Have you found any other ways to break the deal?”

“I have not, I asked Mr. Gold as well but because of the way the spell was designed I’m afraid there’s really no way for you to get out of it.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. Well. I was chatting with Ruby and Belle about it and we were trying to come up with a way for us to solve this as soon as possible, and we think we figured out a way to do it.”

“What’s that?”

“What if I was a surrogate for you? Then it’s technically my first born child, and it would be meant for you the entire time anyways. You get your child, I don’t have to actually give up a child that, well, for lack of a better word, want.”

Regina paused for a moment and took a sip of her drink, “Hm. That might actually work. Would you really be willing to be a surrogate for me?”

“I mean. Now that I’ve gotten to know you a bit more, you’re not actually that bad, and I think you’d be a good mom. I’m not sure when or how we would do it, but I’m definitely considering it. I’d rather do that than have to give you my first born when I actually am ready to have kids, if that day comes. But I mean. What would happen if I were to not give you my first born?”

“Mr. Gold and I were discussing that as well. We aren’t positive on the repercussions but I believe that it could cause the spell to backfire and your luck would change, I can’t predict how badly. As far as I know the spell may still be influencing your life.”

Emma sighed and took a big sip of her cider, “That’s kind of what we had assumed. How would we go about me being a surrogate? And once you get your child, the deal is fulfilled and it’ll stop influencing me, right?”

“I guess we’ll have to go to a clinic and figure that out, I’m not sure where the closest one is, but I know we don’t have a fertility clinic in Storybrooke, Boston may be the closest one. When would you want to do this? As far as the spell, magic is unpredictable at times. It may always tip the scales in your favor or it may wear off the moment you place the child in my arms.”

“Oh okay, as much as it seemed like a good idea when I was younger, I can’t help but wonder if I’ve gotten to where I am because of the spell, or if it’s because I really am good enough to be a social worker. Anyways, I started work this week and I’m going to be pretty busy over the next month trying to get settled in and starting to implement some new plans as we get ready for the school year. But, maybe in August we could go and see what would be involved?”

“August would work for me, Emma…” Regina paused and folded her hands on top of the island, “I just… thank you for doing this for me. I know we didn’t quite get off on the right foot, but this means a lot to me. Also Emma, as I told you years ago, the spell won’t make anything necessarily happen for you, it’ll just push things towards you, what you do with them is up to you.”

“I had a lot of time to think things through about what you did, while I still don’t really think it was right, it’s because of you that I got my family, and I love them more than anything. Without you I wouldn’t have them, or Ruby and Belle, I don’t know if I would have gone to college, and I definitely wouldn’t have my position at the center. And I guess, I just realized that as wrong as it was for you to have done that to me, I understand where you were coming from and I’m grateful for what came of it for me as well.”

“Thought about it a lot while you were away did you?”

“Yeah, a lot of drunk nights with the girls talking it through helped me to get here about the whole agreement.”

“I am sorry Emma, I never should have made that deal that night, not with a 16 year old who had no idea what I was talking about.”

Emma nodded and downed the rest of her cider, “Yeah, you shouldn’t have, but it’s not like we can go back in time and change it, and even if we could, I’m not sure I would do anything differently. There’s no guarantee I would have found my family.”

Regina smiled and nodded her head at Emma, “I understand. Well, if that’s all I don’t want to keep you here.”

“It’s no problem, I actually don’t have anything to do today, but I can get out of your hair. I guess when it gets closer to August we can work out a date for us to go down to the city.”

“Sounds great Emma, again, thank you so much.”

Emma gave her a small nod and a smile before getting up and making her way out of the house, she hopped into her bug and shot Ruby and Belle a quick text, letting them know that she had proposed her being a surrogate for Regina, before heading down to the center. She didn’t have long to prepare for the kids to come back when the school year started and she was hoping to do things a lot differently this year.

She had plans for more expansive after school programs that would allow kids to stay there until parents got out of work. She had reached out to the principal of the high school and convinced him to do a joint program between the seniors in high school and the center for their service learning hours. They’d be running a tutoring program for kids during the after school program in addition to their homework help time. There would also be an option for the teenagers to stay later and do an arts and crafts or sports program for the kids as well.

She had also spoken with a couple of the other counselors there and they were reworking their group therapy sessions as well as adding in one on one therapy sessions as well. They had all been receptive of the changes that Emma was wanting to implement and she was hoping that the kids would be taking advantage of everything new as well.

Emma had been slightly worried about how the two counselors would react to her being in charge, they both had been there while she was a volunteer, but had been happily surprised by how accepting and excited they were for her. She got out of the car and made her way into the building smiling at one of the counselors, Ava, as she walked back to her office.

She pulled out her lunch and put it on the desk as she opened her laptop and got back to writing out the curriculum for group therapy. They would be starting things up at the center two weeks before school started again. She hoped this extra time would give the kids a chance to get back into a routine before they had to focus on their studies as well. However, it left them with very little time to get things all set.

Ava was taking care of getting the tutors lined up and working out a schedule for them to follow while Bridget, the other counselor, was taking care of the arts and crafts and sports aspects of the center. She tried to focus on getting work done but the conversation with Regina kept popping into her head. She grabbed her phone as she felt it vibrate, finding a text from Ruby.

‘How are you going to handle carrying her baby when you still have the hots for her?’

She rolled her eyes and shot her back a quick message, ‘Thinking someone is attractive and having feelings for them are two different things. I’ll be fine.’

She would admit to herself that she had had a bit of a crush on the mayor before she left for college, and while she might still find her attractive, she had long since gotten over the crush. She shook her head as she tried to clear her mind of the woman, nothing would change just because she might be carrying her baby.

Chapter Text

“Hey Emma, are you ready?”

The center was due to open tomorrow and Emma was frazzled as she ran around the office trying to make sure everything was in order. All of the planning was finished and almost everything was in place, but she was worried that they had forgotten something.

“I think so. We’ve got enough notebooks for all the kids right? I really want to make sure we’re implementing journaling as a regular thing for them.”

“Yes, they’re all in the therapy rooms, 150 in each, it should be more than enough. Last year we only had about 200 kids total. We’re not expecting too many more this year.” Bridget said as she browsed through the check list on her clipboard.

“Great, and the art and crafts rooms are set up as well as the gym with the new sports equipment correct?”

“Yes and yes, there should be more than enough of everything, and all the extras are either in the hallway closet or the back room. Gym has basketball and a soccer net set up for now as well as some hula hoops, jump ropes, and tunnels and such for obstacle courses.”

“The teens from the high school are set to be here tomorrow too right?”

“We’ve got 15 coming, we’ll split them between sports and arts and crafts, and the ones who will be running the tutoring center will be here at noon for training.

“Perfect. Oh, lunch. Are we all set for lunch?”

“Granny will be dropping off food for the first two weeks, I think she’s doing sandwiches, salads, and chips tomorrow.” Ava nodded as she scanned through her notebook.

“Is there anything I’m forgetting?”

“Have you breathed yet today?” Ava asked.

Emma laughed, “I don’t think I have. I just want to make sure everything goes to plan.”

“It will Emma, you’ve done a great job preparing for this, the kids are going to love the changes.”

“I really hope so. Alright, well, I guess that’s it for today, I’ll see you both here bright and early tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow Emma,” They both said before heading towards their offices to pack up for the night.

Emma took one last walk through of the building, verifying that everything was in place for tomorrow. She went through the arts and crafts room, gym, therapy rooms, and the small library section that was going to double as the tutoring center. As she made her way back to her office she pulled out her phone and sent Ruby a quick text to meet up for drinks. Earlier in the week she had gone to Boston with Regina for their first appointment and she had yet to speak to Ruby about it.

She sat down behind her desk and went through the checklist for a final time. They had printed out copies of the roster of kids coming tomorrow, around 40 of them and all in foster care. The kids who weren’t in foster care but would be coming after school would begin their program the first week of school instead.

She had read through their files, mostly kids ranging from 5-15, some had lived in Storybrooke for a couple of years, but most of them were recently transferred here within the last year. One that had really caught her eye was a boy named Brian, the oldest at 17 years old and had just moved to Storybrooke in June. She didn’t recognize the name of his foster parents but it looked like he’d had a rough time in the system, similar to hers. She had made a note to connect with him on the first day, hoping that maybe she could be the person for him that she had needed growing up.

***

Emma walked into the bar and took a seat near the far end of the bar, hoping it would give them a bit of privacy as they talked about her appointment with the mayor. She picked up a menu and browsed through it, knowing she’d probably end up ordering the same thing she usually got here. She set it down and looked around the bar as she waited for the bartender to come over to her.

She raised a hand up slightly as she saw Ruby walk in the front door and motioned her over, giving her a hug before she sat down next to her at the bar.

“How was work? Are you guys ready for the center to open tomorrow?”

“It was good, busy, but good. I think we’re as ready as we’re going to be for tomorrow, I’ve already made a list of some specific kids I want to work with personally, just ones who remind me of me.”

“That’s great Emma, I’m so glad they offered you this position, you’re going to do amazing things for those kids. But. What I really want to talk about is your meeting with Regina down in the city, how did that go?”

Emma sighed, “I need a drink first.” She looked around the bar again, waiting for a bartender to look up and make eye contact with her, smiling as one of the guys finally did and made his way over to them. He set a couple of napkins down in front of them and smiled.

“What can I get you ladies tonight?”

“I’ll do a Sierra Nevada Torpedo.”

“Will you give me a screaming orgasm?” Ruby winked at him.

Before the bartender could react Emma slapped Ruby’s arm, “I apologize for my friend.”

He laughed, “It’s alright, I’ve heard worse.” Before leaving and going about making their drinks.

“Are you really going to make me wait to hear how the meeting went?”

“Yes.”

“Bitch.”

“You love me.”

“God only knows why.”

Emma laughed and shook her head, this was exactly what she needed after the stress of the last week or so and she knew she could always count on Ruby for that. She nodded a thanks to the bartender as her beer was set in front of her and immediately picked it up and took a sip.

“You’ve got alcohol, talk.”

She rolled her eyes, “Anyone ever tell you you’re extremely impatient?”

“All the time, I don’t care.”

“I don’t know, it was just a meeting. It went about as well as it could have I guess. We talked about options and what being a surrogate would mean for me. What I’d have to do, work, expenses. Since there’s the deal in play Regina would just cover my medical bills, but I’m fine with that.”

“So you’re really going to go through with this then?” Ruby winked at the bartender again as he set her drink down in front of her, watching as he walked away chuckling.

“I mean, I don’t really have a choice, I’d rather do it now and this way than have to give her my first born when and if I actually decide to have kids. I asked her also what would happen if I didn’t, she wasn’t entirely sure but thought the same thing as we did, that it could cause the spell to backfire and my luck would suddenly get much worse.”

Ruby sighed, “Yeah I mean, I guess I get it. It’s definitely better going into this with the mindset of it’s Regina’s baby from the start. Still, what about the center?”

“Yeah, that’s my biggest concern, I know I’ll have to take some time off and since I’m just starting there I’m worried about how that’s going to go. We’re not going to do it right away, I think we’re going to start trying in a few months, just try to get things settled and all of that.”

“Still, a few months is going to be here before you know it. Also, you’re sure you’re over her?”

“Yes. One hundred percent positive. It was just a teenage crush.”

Ruby shot her a look and raised her eyebrow.

“What? I just thought she was attractive. I’m attracted to women, she’s an attractive woman, I’m not sure what’s so hard to believe here.”

“Whatever you say Swan.”

“You’re impossible, why am I friends with you again?”

“Because I’m a great kisser?” She winked before puckering her lips and moving closer to Emma.”

“Yeah, because that worked out so well the last time,” Emma swatted at her and leaned away, laughing.

“We both know that had nothing to do with my amazing kissing skills. I’d be happy to give you a reminder if you need one.”

“You need to get laid Ruby.”

“Tell me about it.”

She laughed and picked up her beer again, her thoughts wandering back to Regina. She wondered how this was going to affect the two of them, from what it sounded like, they’d be spending quite a lot of time together over the next year or so, possibly more if she wasn’t able to conceive right away. They had another appointment to go back in a few weeks to harvest eggs from Regina that would be fertilized and implanted into Emma. The whole process still sort of made her somewhat queasy but she figured with time she’d get more used to the idea.

Regina was currently going through a list of sperm donors to choose from, another part of the process that weirded Emma out, it was like a shopping catalogue of men to pick from.

“So what’s next?”

“Well, we go back to the city in a few weeks, they’ll harvest eggs from Regina and fertilize them with the sperm she chooses, then freeze them until they’re ready to be implanted into me. I need to go back for some testing when she goes as well, then one more time for a mock cycle they called it, as long as that goes well we just have to wait for my cycle to line up and they’ll implant the embryo. I think with all the testing and everything we’re looking at the first actual try in October.”

“Wow, I can’t believe you’re going to be pregnant.”

“I mean, it won’t actually be my baby though. I’m just a… walking incubator.”

“But still, don’t you think you’ll get attached at all to the baby?”

“Why would I? It’s not like it’s my baby.”

“It’ll be inside of you for nine months though, there’s going to be some sort of a bond right?”

“I don’t know, I don’t think so. It’s not like I really want a baby of my own right now or anything, and it’s her egg, not mine. It’ll be fine Ruby.”

“Just trying to look out for you Ems.”

“I know, I love you for it, but trust me, everything will work out fine. I wouldn’t go into this blindly. Anyways, enough about me. How is Granny doing?”

“She’s doing alright, just needs to take it easier than she has been, but the diner is doing great, I’ll be adding a few new menu items in the fall.”

“Damn, she’s letting you change the menu?”

“I know, I was shocked when she agreed to it too.”

“Well, I can’t wait to see what you have planned for it. Other than needing to slow down a bit, Granny is doing okay?”

“Oh yeah, and even when she’s supposed to be taking it easy she’s still finding ways to bother me and make sure I’m doing things her way.” She rolled her eyes at this.

“That sounds like Granny to me, I’m glad she’s not sick or anything.”

“Me too, I’m not sure what I’d do without her. Anyways. One last check. You sure this is a good idea?”

“I mean, it’s pretty much the only option. It’ll all work out fine. You’ll see.”

***

Emma was reading through the profile of the sperm donor that Regina had picked out. They had harvested her eggs a few weeks ago and after the mock trial went fine they were on their way for the real thing. He was in his late 20s, in law school, was blonde haired and blue eyed.

The center had opened smoothly and Emma couldn’t believe how well things were going there, they had their troublemakers and setbacks, but that was to be expected with all of the new things they had implemented. The high school students were doing a great job with the tutoring program and the teachers from the elementary, middle, and high schools had already contacted Emma saying what a difference they were seeing between this year and last with some of the students.

“So, are you ready for this Emma?”

“I’m as ready as I’m going to be. I’ll be giving up my body to this baby for the next nine months, but I’ve read all the paperwork they gave me and I’ve done some research on my own as well. I even joined a group online for surrogates.”

“What do you think of the donor?”

“Does it matter what I think?”

“I’m just trying to make conversation.”

“He’s handsome. Obviously smart since he’s in law school. I’m sure he’ll be a great donor.”

Regina shifted in the driver’s seat scrunching her shoulders up before relaxing them again.

“Do you want me to drive for a bit?”

“No, that’s okay, we’re not too far away from the clinic now.”

Silence filled the car and Emma pulled out her phone bringing up the forums for the surrogacy website she had joined. She had been talking with some of the woman there lately and gathering some tips and opinions from them. They had included everything from playing recordings of the intended parent’s voice to their favorite music, keeping them involved, and what to do if she found herself getting too attached to the baby.

There were a few women she’d started talking with regularly that were just beginning their surrogacy journey as well. While they all lived far away it helped them to not feel so alone in this. One had just confirmed the pregnancy and the other would be going for implantation in the next month or so. Emma found herself grateful that there was someone just ahead of her that could share her experiences with the whole process.

She watched out the window as the now familiar buildings passed by. They’d be in Boston for 2 days, meeting with their counselors today and then doing the implantation tomorrow so long as everything went well. Regina had booked them two rooms at the Marriott down the street from the clinic and they were heading there to check in before going over to the clinic for their appointment.

Emma looked over at Regina, wondering about how nervous she was about this whole process, after all at the end of it she’d be walking away with a newborn.

“Are you worried about being a single mother?”

“No more so than a couple would be I suppose. I’m more than ready for it, I’ve thought about it and have had years to prepare for being a mother. It’s all I really want.”

“Why not wait until you meet someone to have a child with them?”

“Who knows when or if that will happen, besides, a family doesn’t have to be a mother, father, and child.”

Emma nodded, “I know that. But wouldn’t it be easier with two?”

“I have Zelena to help with things if I need. Besides, there are groups in Storybrooke as well that I can join, nannies if needed. And uh, I mean, you’ll be around too.”

“Me? But I’m not the baby’s parent.”

“I know that. I just meant that you live in Storybrooke, it’s not like you won’t see the baby at all.”

Emma nodded, it had been one thing she’d brought up with the surrogacy group, seeing the baby on a regular basis, and whether that would make things complicated or not. So far the only people she’d come across that would also be in regular contact with the baby was a woman who was carrying the baby for her sister and another woman who was doing it for a close friend.

She didn’t feel like those situations helped her at all, Regina and her weren’t related, and they weren’t exactly friends, outside of their agreement, she wasn’t really sure what their relationship was. In fact, if they hadn’t met in the bar that night, she wondered if their paths would have crossed at all.

She was shook from her thoughts as Regina put the car in park and she realized they were already at the hotel. They climbed out of the car and grabbed their respective bags before making their way into the hotel. The concierge welcomed them before taking their information and handing them the keys to their rooms on the fourth floor.

Her room was right across from Regina’s and she let herself in. She did her usual check around the room, turned all the lights on, and checked the bathroom, moving the shower curtain completely to one end. She opened the closet doors and rounded the bed before pulling the sheets down and shining the flashlight of her phone onto the sheets. While this wasn’t one of the cheap motels she’d stayed in in the past, one couldn’t be too careful. She doubled back around and checked the locks before nodding to herself and falling back onto the bed.

They had about an hour before they needed to leave for their first appointment and she wondered if taking a short nap right now would make her more or less tired when she woke up. Deciding she was too tired to care she set the alarm on her phone and set it on the night stand next to her before rolling over and closing her eyes.

***

“How have you ladies been since our last appointment?”

Regina and Emma sat down on the opposite side of the desk and smiled at her.

“We’re doing good, ready to get started,” Regina smiled.

“I’m sure, do you or Emma have any questions?”

“I don’t think so, I’ve been doing a lot of research on being a surrogate and found a couple support groups online to join. I’ve been chatting with them about their experiences with it.”

“That’s great Emma, a very good idea. We talked about your support system in your life as well, you’ve got a good relationship with your parents and a couple friends who will support you right?”

“Yeah, Ruby has moved back to town and she knows everything and is supporting me in it and my friend Belle is in NYC but she’s just a phone call away.”

“That’s great, and Regina, any questions or concerns in moving forward?”

“No, I’m more excited than anything. You guys froze the embryo and tomorrow will implant it in Emma right?”

“That’s correct, so far the embryo looks great, so long as all the tests go well and Emma’s at the correct place in her cycle we’ll be good to implant tomorrow.”

“Perfect.”

“Well, if there are no more questions I’m going to take Emma back for some tests. I know you guys are friends, Emma did you want Regina to come back or did you want some privacy?”

“Uh, if she doesn’t mind I’d like some privacy.”

“Of course, I’ll just wait in the waiting room.”

The doctor nodded before standing up and leading the way outside of her office. They walked down to one of the exam rooms and she motioned towards the table, “I’ll leave this gown for you to change into, everything from the waist down off, and I’ll be right back.”

Emma had always hated the doctor, especially the gynecologist, and this was one of the worst parts of agreeing to be a surrogate for Regina. She folded her jeans and stuck her underwear into the pocket of them before putting the gown on and climbing up onto the table. She pulled at the uncomfortable paper and tried to make it cover everything, even though she knew the doctor was about to be up close and personal with her.

She looked around the rooms at the diagrams and posters as she waited for the doctor to come back in, her legs swung back and forth slightly hitting the cold metal of the table.

A knock startled her out of her thoughts and she looked up and gave a nervous smile as the doctor walked back into the room.

“Alright Emma, are you ready to get started? We’re just going to do an exam and sonogram, be sure nothing has changed since your last visit, and we’ll be doing some blood draws after as well.”

Emma nodded, “Okay.”

The doctor sat down on the chair and wheeled over towards her, “Alright Emma, legs up, I apologize for the coldness and discomfort, I’ll make this quick.”

She put her legs up into the stirrups and forced herself to not pinch her knees together as she stared up at the ceiling and the doctor began the exam. She winced as she felt the cool gel and tried to distract herself, thinking about what the next almost year was going to bring. She hoped that this first implantation took so she wouldn’t have to go through this again.

“Everything looks great Emma, ready for the sonogram?”

She nodded and took her legs out of the stirrups, immediately spreading the gown back down over her legs. She took the paper blanket and spread it over her lap, tucking the edges under her thighs, and let the top part of the gown fall open so her abdomen was exposed.

“Again, sorry for the gel.”

“You’d think they’d find a way to keep it warm.”

“You’d think that, maybe one day they’ll do that.”

Emma looked over at the screen trying to decipher what was going on with it. She listened as the doctor tried to point things out but mainly thought about what was going to happen tomorrow. She had read a bit about the procedure and of course what the doctor had gone over with her at previous appointments, but she was still nervous about the actual procedure.

“Is it going to hurt tomorrow?”

“It might be slightly uncomfortable but there shouldn’t be any actual pain. It’s a very small tube that we use to do the implantation, there might be some pressure, but nothing too bad.”

She nodded, thinking about it still made her slightly queasy. The doctor took the wand off of her stomach and wiped it off before putting it back on the rack next to the machine, “Everything looks great. I’m going to have my nurse come in and do the blood draw, the results should be back tomorrow and then we’ll be all set. Do you have any last questions for me?”

“I don’t think so, thank you.”

“Of course, I’ll see you tomorrow Emma.”

She hopped off of the table and took the gown off, tossing it into the trash and putting her clothes back on. As she jumped back up onto the table the door opened and the nurse came in and smiled at her. She was carrying a few tubes with her, “Do you have any problems with blood being drawn?”

“I don’t like it, but no.”

“Great, any arm you prefer?”

“My left if possible.”

“Can I have you verify your name and date of birth?”

Emma rattled off the information and put her arm up on the pillow the nurse had placed in her lap letting her eyes wander around the room again to anything that distracted her from a needle going into her arm. She read through one of the posters about endometriosis and looked back down when she felt the nurse press a cotton ball to her arm, “Just hold that there for a moment.”

After putting a band aid over her arm the nurse tossed a few things out, grabbed the vials of blood, and motioned towards the door, “You’re all set, the doctor will call you later this evening or tomorrow morning for confirmation.”

The nurse led the way to the waiting room and Emma walked over to Regina, “All set.”

“Do we need to do anything else before we leave?”

“No, we’ll get a call either tonight or tomorrow confirming tomorrow. Do you want to grab dinner?” Emma asked as the pair made their way back out to Regina’s car.

“Sure, are you in the mood for anything specific?” Regina asked as she climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Italian?”

“I think I saw a place near our hotel.” Regina pulled out her phone and browsed through it for a moment before setting the GPS and pulling out of the office.

They drove in silence for a bit as they made their way to the restaurant before Regina broke it, “Are you nervous about the procedure tomorrow?”

“A bit, worried it’s going to hurt, are you?”

“Yeah. I wonder how many times we’re going to have to do this for it to take.”

“I’m really hoping it’s just this once, I hate having to go to the doctor, especially this many times.”

“I’m sorry Emma.”

“You can stop apologizing. I was the one who came up with this idea.”

“I know, but I’m still the one who put you into this position.”

“It’s fine.”

They fell into silence again until they pulled up to the restaurant, both climbing out and making their way into the restaurant. They sat down on the benches the hostess had motioned to and waited for their buzzer to alert them that their table was ready.

“Have you thought about whether you want a boy or a girl?”

“I’m not really sure, I just want them to be healthy, but, I always loved the idea of having a boy.”

“How about names?”

“Henry for a boy, after my father. For a girl, I’m not too sure, nothing has really stuck out, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out if it is a girl.”

“Do you want to know the gender before it’s born?”

“I think so. I want to be able to prepare and do the nursery. Are you okay with that?”

“Sure. It’s not my baby.”

Regina nodded, startling slightly as the buzzer in her hand vibrated. She motioned to it and they stood up before handing it to the hostess and she led the way towards a table, “Your server will be over in a moment.”

Emma looked around the restaurant, it was more high class than the ones she usually went to with Ruby and Belle, but the food on the tables next to them looked great. They sat in silence as they looked through the menu.

“Do you want to share a bottle of wine?”

Emma wrinkled her nose slightly, “I’m not really a wine person.”

“Okay, do you know what you want to order?”

“I’ll probably just get the spaghetti and meatballs or the ravioli. You?”

“I’m between the lasagna and mushroom risotto.”

“What even is risotto?”

“It’s like a creamy rice, it’s delicious. I can order that and you can try it if you’d like. I can be a bit picky with my lasagna anyways.”

“Oh yes, your famous lasagna,” Emma teased.

Regina rolled her eyes and laughed, the slight tension between the two breaking, “I don’t know about famous, but I must admit my lasagna is pretty great.”

Emma nodded, Regina had brought over lasagna multiple times after her and Mary Margaret began working together, and she had to admit, it was the best lasagna she had tasted, a bit spicy, but delicious.

“Would you like to order an appetizer?”

“You can decide, I’m not too picky with food.”

The waiter came over and smiled at them, “Good evening ladies, what can I get you to drink?”

“I’ll do a glass of merlot.”

“Could I do a glass of Sierra Nevada, whichever is on tap would be great.”

“And can we get an order of the spinach artichoke dip to start out with?”

“Of course, would you like to place your entree order now as well or do you need a moment to think?”

“I’ll do the ravioli.”

“And the mushroom risotto for me.”

“Of course, your drinks and appetizer will be out shortly.”

“Thank you.”

They waited as he took their menus and made his way off to the kitchen to place their order before resuming their conversation.

“How is the center going?”

“It’s great, I can’t believe how well things are going actually. The kids are really liking all of the changes and we’ve had most of the foster kids sign up for one on one therapy sessions. Most of them are using their journals and attending group therapy as well. I wish we had had enough people signed up for soccer, but maybe next year.”

“That’s amazing Emma, you’ve really done a great job with the center.”

“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without your support and help with the grants we received.”

“Well with such a great cause, how could I turn your proposal down?”

“The tutoring center is doing amazing too, the teachers at all three schools have already reached out to me with the differences they’re seeing in the students. And, the high school students seem to really enjoy it as well.”

“That’s great, it was a good idea getting them involved in it.”

“How is work going for you?” Emma blushed at the praise and busied herself with unfolding her napkin and laying it across her lap.

“It’s going well, I need to start working on finding a replacement for me when the baby is born, I want to take at least the first 3 months off of work completely if possible.”

“Have you thought about who you’d like to take over?”

“I was actually going to talk to your mother about helping out, she’s been stepping in to help a lot already and knows how things run. I think she’d do a great job as a temporary mayor.”

“Oh wow, really? What about her being a teacher?”

“She’d have to take the year off for that I suspect, but we might be able to work it all out, she’s my first choice though, as surprising as that may be.”

Emma looked up as she saw the waiter coming their way with their drinks in hand. He set them down with a smile before walking away. Emma picked hers up and took a sip before setting it down again and rubbing her hands on her thighs, “I didn’t realize she was so involved in the political side of things.”

“Yeah, a couple of years ago I needed some help and she volunteered to come by after class to help, it just evolved from there.”

“That’s pretty cool.”

The two fell silent again as they both stared around the restaurant, a somewhat awkward silence falling between them. Emma fidgeted for a bit as she watched the couples around the restaurant and looked over at Regina again.

She was staring off out the window and Emma took a moment to look at her. She had put on a tight black dress for the night that dipped just low enough that Emma’s eyes had been brought to the v multiple times that night. Her hair was slightly curled and she wondered if it was as soft as it looked. She trailed her eyes over her face, red lips that she wanted to press her lips to as she tangled her hands into her hair.

Emma shook her head as she realized where her thoughts had led her. She had found her thoughts wandering that way more often lately and she was finding it harder to admit that the crush she had had on the mayor as a teenager was completely gone, maybe it was still there, just a bit. Her attention was pulled as the waiter set down the spinach artichoke dip in front of them and Emma nodded and smiled at him. She looked over to see Regina doing the same and bit her lip, yeah it might still be there.

Chapter Text

Emma found herself with her legs up in the stirrups again for the second time in as many days. She had the now familiar thin paper gown on with an equally thin and scratchy paper sheet draped over her lap, but this time Regina was sitting next to her. Conversation had lulled between the two and Emma scrolled through her phone, distracting herself from what would be coming.

The doctor knocked before walking into the room and Emma put her phone down, smiling at the woman, “Hello Emma, Regina. Are you guys excited for today?”

“We are,” Regina responded, before Emma could even open her mouth.

“Well, all of your test results came back perfect Emma, you’re at the right point in your cycle, so as long as you’re both ready, we can get started.”

Emma nodded as she wiped her palms across the side of her gown nervously, “Nervous. But ready.”

“Do either of you have any questions as far as the procedure or anything else?”

They both shook their heads and the doctor smiled as she went about preparing everything, setting things on trays, and grabbing some gloves from the box on the wall, “Alright let’s get started then.”

As the doctor shifted the scratchy paper blanket further up Emma’s lap her eyes focused on the holes in the ceiling tile above her. She tried not to think about the fact that she was half naked with Regina right next to her as she looked for patterns in the tiles.

“Sorry for the coldness Emma, you’re going to feel a slight pressure, okay? We’ll be implanting two embryos as we discussed, it is possible for them both to implant, but we’ve already discussed that. Emma, you’ll need to come back in nine days for a HCG test and we’ll be doing another one two days later. You can make those appointments before you leave today.”

Emma looked over at Regina, thankful for something to distract her, “Ten days puts us at next Wednesday, and you guys aren’t open on weekends right?”

“No, unfortunately we’re not.”

“Alright, I should be able to take Wednesday through Friday off, my coworkers at the center know what is going on so they’ve been more than happy to cover for me.”

“I’ll have Mary Margaret cover for me for anything I can’t push til the week after.”

“You’re all set Emma, wasn’t that bad was it?”

“Oh wow, that wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. Thank you.”

“I’ll leave you to get dressed.”

She left the room and Regina turned to face the wall as Emma hopped down from the table to get dressed. She quickly pulled her clothes on and discarded the paper into the trash can, “You can turn around.”

“How do you feel?”

“I’m not really sure. It’s weird to think that there might be a baby growing in me right now. How long do you think it takes to.. You know, take?”

“Hm, I didn’t really look into that, we could ask the doctor if you want?” Regina made a slight hand motion towards the door.

“That’s okay, I can look it up later.”

Emma put a hand on her stomach and looked down at it, it was completely surreal to her that there could be a baby there, and if she was being honest, it kind of freaked her out. She had been speaking to the couple of other women she had met on the surrogate website about it, and was thankful that both of them had felt the same way during their first pregnancies. They both had a couple of kids of their own and had been through pregnancy before and Emma was grateful that she could speak to them about what would be going on over the next nine months.

“Emma?” Regina was giving her a look and Emma blushed as she realized she probably had been calling her name for a bit.

“Sorry, was just thinking. You ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s go make our next appointment.”

They made their way up front and Regina hung back a bit as she waited for Emma to make it, she pulled out her phone to check on some work messages and email and figured she’d send Mary Margaret a text asking her for a meeting later that week as well. Emma smiled as she approached Regina again, “Alright, all set. Ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s get back to Storybrooke.”

***

Emma walked into Granny’s diner to meet Ruby and took a seat in one of the back booths. She had tried to get together with her sooner, but between their work schedules, this was the first time they’d both had free time. It had been three weeks since their appointment where the embryo had been implanted and they had gone back nine days afterwards where they had learned that it looked like the pregnancy had taken. They had another blood test next week before an ultrasound at the six week mark.

While she had been told all of the appointments she would need to have, now that they were really getting into it, she realized that she wasn’t prepared for just how much this was going to take over her life. She put her hand on her stomach and looked down as she waited chuckling softly, then again, it was silly for her to assume in the first place that being pregnant wasn’t going to completely change everything.

“Hey Emma, sorry I’m late.”

“No problem Ruby, I just got here myself,” Emma said before standing up and giving her friend a hug.

“I want to know everything.”

“Well, like I said, they confirmed that the HCG levels are going up, which means it looks like the pregnancy took, but we won’t know for sure for another few weeks, we’ll have to go back to the clinic for an ultrasound to confirm it for sure.”

“That’s great, but I meant I wanted to know everything about what’s going on with you and Madam Mayor.”

Emma rolled her eyes, “They’re alright. We haven’t talked much since we came back from the last appointment, we’ve both been pretty busy with work.”

“Well that’s disappointing. All that time down in Boston and nothing happened? How are things going down at the center?”

“Ruby. I’ve told you before, we’re just… I don’t know if I can even call what we have friends. But everything at the center is going great, I can’t believe that Halloween is next week, we’ve got a party planned for the kids and everything. There will be trick or treating and games, a dance floor, it should be a pretty fun event for them.”

“Oh awesome, do you need any help with it?”

“Well we can always use more hands for passing out candy and making sure everything is going well.”

“Well count me in, I don’t think Granny was planning on keeping the diner open too late that night anyways, maybe she can come as well.”

“That’d be perfect! She’ll be making some of the treats for the kids as well.”

“Ruby, Emma, how are you girls doing?”

“Great!”

“Your usuals I assume?”

The girls nodded and Granny scribbled the order down before turning to Emma, “Are you ready for all of the weird cravings Emma?”

“Oh gosh, I don’t think so, I think that’s going to be one of the… interesting… parts of pregnancy.”

“I definitely had some weird cravings during mine, hopefully yours won’t be too bad. Anyways, I’ll let you girls get back to catching up. Your food will be right up.”

“Thanks Granny.”

“How are things going here? How is Granny doing?”

“They’re alright, she’s just wanting to slow down, doesn’t have as much energy as she used to, but don’t let her hear you say that. I’m going to be taking over more shifts so she’s got more time off.”

“That’s good, have you talked to her about the changes to the menu we talked about?”

“I haven’t brought it up yet, I’m still a bit worried about how she’s going to take it.”

“Well, they’re not going to change it too much, and they are really great ideas, just making it a little bit more modern.”

“Yeah exactly. How are you feeling about the pregnancy?”

“Honestly?”

“Obviously.” Ruby rolled her eyes.

“I’m a little freaked out. I know it’s not my baby, but it’s a lot physically to go through and I don’t even want to talk about giving birth.”

“Yeah… you’re going for the drugs right?”

“Of course, even if Regina says no, it’s my body that’s pushing this baby out and I’m taking the drugs.”

Ruby laughed and nodded, “If I ever have kids, I’ll be doing the same.”

***

The Halloween party was in full swing and there were kids in costumes running around everywhere screaming and filling up on candy and cookies. Emma looked up as she heard her name being called and smiled over at Ruby, “I’m glad you could make it! Isn’t this crazy?”

Granny had volunteered her baking services and there were cookies, cupcakes, and brownies on tables throughout the gym. Through the rest of the center there were volunteers set up with candy to give out to the kids and at one end of the hall it had been blocked off as a small haunted house. The classrooms had been divided up into different activities ranging from face painting, bobbing for apples, and other various games.

“Me too! This looks incredible Emma! I can’t believe you came up with all of this.”

“Thank you, it took me and the girls the whole week to get everything prepared for it and we spent at least the last two days getting this all set up. We couldn’t have done it without the help of the high school students.”

“Well, where do you need me?”

“If you could go around to the different rooms and see if any of the people handing out candy need a break or more candy that’d be great. If they’re all set come find me again and we’ll find you something to do.”

She watched Ruby head off before turning around as small arms wrapped themselves around her from behind.

“Hey Savanah! Woah! Amazing costume!”

“Hi Miss Emma! Thank you! This is amazing, I’ve never been to something like this before!”

“I’m so glad you’re having fun! Have you checked out the haunted house yet?”

“Not yet, we’re going there next!”

Emma laughed as she watched the young girl run away with a couple of friends in tow. Since the center had opened she had gotten close to a few of the foster kids who frequented it, Savanah was one of them. She was an eight year old who had been bounced between three homes in the last year before ending up with a couple here in Storybrooke.

The teachers at the elementary school had emailed Emma earlier in the month telling her how impressed they were with Savanah’s progress between the beginning of the school year and now. She was hopeful that they would be able to keep her through the whole school year so that she had a decent chance of catching up to where she was supposed to be in school.

She walked around the gym smiling as she saw a lot of familiar faces of both kids and community members who had come to help out. Her chest tightened slightly at the sight of so many of the center’s kids smiling and enjoying the party. Growing up there hadn’t been a program like this and that she was able to provide something like this for foster kids now warmed her heart in a way she wasn’t able to put into words.

***

“Alright guys, are you ready to try to confirm the pregnancy?”

“More than ready,” Regina nodded, moving closer to Emma’s side so she could get a better look at the ultrasound machine.

Dr. Chase moved the ultrasound machine closer to the bed and grabbed the bottle of gel and wand, “Okay, I’m going to hand you the wand to insert and then from there I’ll direct it to where I need to see.”

Emma took a deep breath and blushed as she realized what she was about to do with Regina standing right beside her. She paused a moment before grabbing the wand from the doctor and moving it down between her legs and pressing it against herself. She winced slightly at the cold gel and pressure as she slowly inserted it as far as she could. Her face heated as she looked over to the doctor who gave her a sympathetic smile before moving her hand to take over controlling it.

Regina leaned forward over Emma as they both stared at the screen in silence as they waited for the doctor to say anything to indicate whether she was pregnant or not. The doctor moved the wand around a bit causing Emma to shift uncomfortably before she smiled and flipped a switch. A soft thump thump filled the room and Emma tilted her head in confusion before her eyes widened.

“Is that…”

“The heartbeat?” Regina finished

“It is, congratulations, you’re pregnant.”

Regina brought her hand up to cover her mouth as her eyes filled with tears, “Wow…”

“I’ll take a photo, do you guys want two copies?”

“Yes please.”

“You want a copy?” Regina asked.

“I mean. I think Mary Margaret and David will ask about it, I didn’t think to ask, is that okay with you?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s quite okay with me.”

The doctor smiled and moved the wand around a few more times, clicking a few things on the screen before slowly pulling the wand out, “Everything looks great so far. I’ll see you guys at 10 weeks for your last appointment with me, then you’ll be transferred over to a local OBGYN unless there are any issues.”

“Thank you so much Dr. Clark.”

“No problem, I’ll be right back in with the photos, you can get dressed again Emma.”

With that Emma watched as she walked out of the room before motioning to Regina to turn around and face the wall so she could get dressed. She hopped down and tossed the paper gowns into the trash before getting redressed.

“You can turn around now.”

Emma bent down to grab her purse from the chair and put it over her shoulder before turning around to face Regina who was right in front of her suddenly. She let out a surprised gasp as Regina threw her arms around her and squeezed her tightly, her face buried into her shoulder, “Thank you so much Emma.”

Emma smiled and wrapped her hands back around Regina, “You’re welcome Regina.”

***

“Sorry.” Emma said, her hand flying up to her hand as she rushed from one of the classrooms in the center.

Morning sickness had kicked in this week and Emma really didn’t understand why it was called morning sickness when it hit her at all times of the day. She rushed into the bathroom and just barely slammed the door shut before she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

She slid to the floor and let her head fall back against the wall of the stall as she groaned and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. She had barely been able to keep anything down since the morning sickness had hit and it was really starting to take its toll on her. She shifted slightly to pull her phone out of her pocket and check what time it was, groaning. She still had 3 hours to go, 4 if anyone was late. As much as she hated it, she was tempted to see if anyone could cover her for the rest of her shift so she could go home and rest.

She groaned again before pulling herself up off the floor of the bathroom and flushing the toilet. As she made her way out of the stall she almost ran into one of her coworkers.

“Emma, are you alright?” She asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

“Yeah, just morning sickness, it hit this week and it’s really taking it’s toll on me.”

“Ah jeez, have you tried ginger? My friend swore by it when she was pregnant.”

“I’ve done some ginger ale but it’s only just slightly helped.”

“I think she was saying something about ginger lollipops or candies that she used to eat throughout the day, I’ll shoot her a message later and ask if you’d like.”

“That would be great, I’m at the point where I’d do anything that helped with this.”

She walked over to the sink and washed her hands before cupping them beneath the sink and rinsing her mouth out.

“I can close up here if you need to go home Emma.”

“Would you mind? I feel horrible that I’ve been having to take so much time off of work.”

“It’s okay Emma, it happens. Go home and I’ll finish up here.”

She gave a weak smile, “Thanks so much, I really appreciate it.” She left the bathroom and headed towards her office, sitting down at her desk to finish up saving some things. She closed her laptop and loaded it into her bag before quickly pulling her coat out and heading out of the office.

The drive home was quick and she was grateful for it as she pulled into the complex’s parking lot. She opened up the door to her apartment, tossed her purse onto the table by the door, and collapsed onto her couch. She threw her arm over her head and closed her eyes hoping her stomach would settle long enough for her to take a quick nap before she had to get up and make dinner.

***

The air was growing colder and Emma pulled her scarf up further over her mouth. She had stopped by her parent’s house to pick up Bailey for a walk on her lunch break and wished she had grabbed a warmer jacket while there. The clock in the center of town showed 12:30, just enough time for her to make one more lap around Main St before bringing Bailey back to her parent’s and heading back to work.

As she walked by the small cafe the strong whiff of coffee caused her stomach to seize, much to her dislike she had found that coffee was the latest trigger to her morning sickness this week. She winced and brought her hand up to her mouth before quickly darting behind one of the buildings, hand braced against the wall as she threw up.

“Emma? Are you okay?”

She groaned, the last thing she wanted was someone watching her right now. She prayed her stomach would behave and stood up slowly before turning around to face the familiar voice.

“I’m okay, just morning sickness.”

“Have you found anything to help?” Regina asked as she walked closer, bending down to pet Bailey’s head.

“Not really, and coffee seems to be the latest trigger,” Emma grimaced.

“I’m sorry Emma…”

“You don’t have to apologize every time I throw up Regina, it was my decision to become a surrogate for you.”

“Only because of the-”

Emma held up her hand cutting her off, “I thought we’d decided to try and move past that.”

“Right.” Regina shifted between her feet.

“I was just finishing up my afternoon walk with Bailey, as long as my stomach allows us to anyways, would you like to join us?”

Regina smiled and nodded, the two women making their way back out to the street in silence. Emma shivered as the wind picked up feeling as though it was blowing straight through her jacket.

“Emma, don’t you have anything heavier? The last thing you need right now is to get sick.” Regina shook her head before waving her hand, a thick black jacket appearing in her hand. She motioned for the other woman to turn around, holding it up for her to slip into. Without thinking about it Regina gathered the other woman’s hair into her hands, pulling it free from the jacket.

“You didn’t have to do that, thanks,” Emma said, feeling her cheeks heat slightly as she zipped the jacket up.

The pair stood there for a moment, silence stretching between them before Bailey whined and pulled at the leash. Emma cleared her throat and they began walking down Main St.

“How have things at the center been going?”

“Great, I’m really happy with all of the changes we’ve put into place so far. The teachers and foster parents I’ve spoken to have all noted improvements in the kids as well. I think that the group and individualized therapy as well as tutoring and new recreational programs are really having a positive effect on everyone.”

“That’s great Emma, I knew you would do something amazing with the center,” Regina smiled over at her.

“Thanks, and uh, I know we said we would try to not bring it up, but thank you. The deal was… unconventional, but I wouldn’t be where I am today, doing what I’m able to do without you.”

Emma smiled at the light flush now covering the mayor’s cheeks, she paused for moment before asking, “How are things going with Mary Margaret, is she ready to take over for you yet?”

“We’re getting there. By the time the baby is here I’ll have her fully trained, we’re starting to work on finding a replacement for her as well, Ashley will be finishing up her degree within the next couple of months and hopefully she’ll be able to take over her class.”

“That’s great, I didn’t realize she was so close to finishing her degree. Are you nervous for the baby to get here?”

“I’ll admit I have my concerns, but I’m mostly excited. How about you? It’s still months away, but are you nervous?”

“About the pain mostly, the women I’ve been talking to on the forums haven’t painted childbirth in the most pleasant light. Which, by the way, I’ll be taking the drugs.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to do it without them Emma,” Regina laughed.

As they approached her parent’s house Emma paused, “Well, thank you for joining me on the rest of our walk, I’ll see you later?”

“You’re welcome Emma, I’ll call you later this week.”

***

“Hey Emma,” Mary Margaret said as she walked into the kitchen, “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Thanks Mom, you too.”

Emma took her coat off and draped it over the back of the chair before sitting down on it and resting her arms on the island. She was pleased to realize that the sweet and savory aromas surrounding her didn’t make her stomach knot.

“How is the morning sickness going?”

“No better than last week unfortunately, I’m really hoping it subsides soon.”

“Well, when I was pregnant with Neal I think I had it badly for about two months.”

“You mean I still have another month and a half of this?” Emma groaned and let her head fall and hit her hand.

“I’m sorry Emma. It really is amazing of you to be a surrogate for Regina, whatever made you want to do it, I don’t think you ever told me?”

Emma froze before lifting her head up again, “Oh… you know… I just, she seemed like she really wanted a baby and I wanted to help her.”

“Well, this was quite the thing to help out with. David used to make me this amazing ginger tea when it got really bad, I’ll ask him for the recipe for it and send it to you.”

“That would be great, thanks Mom.”

“Of course hon. I think your dad and the kids are in the living room watching the football game if you want to join them. I know Millie was really excited about seeing you today.”

“Aw, I’m excited to see her too. I feel bad that I haven’t really been able to do much with her since I got back.” She got up and made her way to the living room where David was sitting on the couch with Neal in his arms and Millie was typing away on her phone.

“Hey guys! Happy Thanksgiving!”

Millie’s gaze shot up from her phone and she dropped on it on the couch before jumping up and throwing her arms around Emma, “Emma! You’re here!”

“Hey Millie!” She gave her a tight hug before joining her on the couch, “Hey Dad, Hey Neal.”

“Hey honey, how are you feeling?”

“Pretty tired but good. Mom said she was going to get the recipe for the ginger tea you made her for me.”

“Are you okay Emma?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Oh,” Emma paused and looked over at David, “Did you guys not tell her?”

“Well, we were thinking it was something that should come from you.”

“Emma…?” Millie said, she leaned closer to her, “What’s going on?”

“Oh, well, Millie. You know Regina? The mayor of the town?”

Millie nodded and Emma smiled and took a breath, “Well, she’s unable to have a baby, so I offered to help her out, and I’m carrying a baby for her.”

“You’re pregnant?!”

“I am, but I’m not keeping the baby, I’m just carrying the baby for her because she’s unable to.”

“Why can’t she have the baby herself?”

“Well, when she was young she was in a car accident and something happened to her. She’s unable to carry a baby safely, that’s where I come in, to help her out.”

“Will you get to see the baby at all?”

“I mean, I suppose I’ll see the baby around town when Regina has him or her out, but I won’t really be involved in the baby’s life.”

Millie’s face screwed up in confusion, “Well why not? You’re carrying them after all.”

“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that hon. Usually a surrogate wouldn’t see the baby at all.”

“Oh.”

“Do you want to see a picture? At the last doctor’s appointment they gave us copies of the sonogram pictures.”

“Yes!”

“Oh, you have a picture Emma?” David asked.

“Yeah, sorry I thought I sent you guys it.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started scrolling through the pictures she had before finally finding it. She handed the phone to Millie who tilted her head in confusion.

“That’s a baby?”

“Well, I’m still pretty early in the pregnancy so it’s a little hard to see, but do you see this circle, the baby is inside of here.”

“Oh… I guess I can kind of see it.” Millie passed the phone to David.

“Aw, I can’t wait for the day when you’re showing us a photo of your own baby.” He paused as if realizing what he said, “Well, don’t be on too big of a rush for that actually, you’re still young.”

“Don’t worry dad, this might be the best birth control in the world. The morning sickness alone is enough to make me not want to be pregnant again for a very long time.”

She laughed at the relieved look that washed over his face as he passed the phone back to her.

“Millie, when did you get a phone?”

“Oh yeah, Mom and Dad got it for me this year when I started staying after school for clubs, they wanted to make sure that I could call for a ride if I needed one.” She looked over at David to see if he was watching before lowering her voice, “But, it’s really nice being able to text my friends.”

Emma laughed and nodded, “That’s definitely one of the best perks of having a cell phone. Pass me yours so I can put my number in it. I can’t believe they didn’t tell me that you got one.”

“Oh yes!” Millie perked up and handed her phone over.

Emma typed in her information before looking up as she heard the doorbell ring, “Oh that must be Ruby and Granny.”

She handed Millie her phone back before getting up and going to the door to let them in.

“Hey Ruby, Granny, I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Thank you for inviting us,” Ruby said, leaning in to hug her.

“Of course, let me take your coats,” She draped them over her arms before shouting out to her mom, “Hey Mom, where do you want me to put the coats?”

“The office is fine Emma, is that Ruby and Granny?”

“It is, hello Mary Margaret.” Granny said before making her way to the kitchen.

Ruby followed Emma into the office and closed the door behind them, “So, how are things going for you and Regina?”

“Oh you know, it’s going alright. The morning sickness is the worst, but, things with Regina are actually going pretty well. She’s been bringing me lunch almost everyday ever since they had confirmed the pregnancy.”

“Aw, that’s almost sweet of her.”

“Ruby.” Emma rolled her eyes.

“What? It’s almost like you guys are dating, but without any of the sexy benefits,” She said waggling her eyebrows.

“Why are we friends?”

“You love me and wouldn’t change me for the world.”

“Sometimes I question that, come on let’s go out and see everyone.”

She opened the door and let Ruby out before closing it behind them again and going into the kitchen. Granny and Mary Margaret were standing at the stove, “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“I think we’re all set here girls, thank you though.”

They both looked at each other and shrugged before making their way into the living room to join David, Neal, and Millie again.

“Ruby! I haven’t seen you around lately, how are you doing?”

“I’ve been good Mr. Nolan, how are you?”

“I’ve told you before Ruby, it’s David. I’m doing good, just busy with the kids and the shelter.”

They both sat down on the couch with Millie, “Hey Ruby,” Millie said, smiling and giving a little wave to her.

“Hey Millie, how’s school going for you this year?”

“Eh. It’s school.”

“Haha, I know the feeling. I’m glad that I’m done with it.”

“Dinner is ready, come sit down everyone!” Mary Margaret yelled out.

They all got up and made their way into the dining room, Mary Margaret and David sitting at the heads of the table with Emma, Millie, and Ruby on one side, Neal and Granny on the other side. Once everyone was sitting down David stood up and clinked his knife against his glass.

“I’m so glad to be spending Thanksgiving with some of my closest friends and family this year. I thought it would be really nice to go around the table and talk about what we’re thankful for this year. For me, I’m grateful that Emma is back home, we missed you so much while you were away.” He smiled and motioned his glass towards her before sitting down again.

They went around the table each taking their turn to mention a thing or two that they were especially proud of this year before they all raised their glasses and took a sip of their drinks. Mary Margaret looked around the table and smiled before saying, “Alright everyone, help yourselves.”

They all immediately reached for the spoons and forks in the multiple dishes and spooned things onto their plates. Ruby leaned over to Emma, “Where’s Regina?”

“I’m not sure, I didn’t ask her where she was spending Thanksgiving.”

“Emma… really?”

“What? I’ve been a bit busy…”

“She doesn’t really have any family, you should have invited her here.”

Emma paused with her fork in midair and sighed, “I should have. I’ll see if she wants to spend Christmas with us. I’m assuming you and Granny will be here too?”

“Of course, holiday tradition, you couldn’t get rid of us.”

Emma laughed and shook her head as she looked around the table, while the holidays were always stressful, it was nice being surrounded by her best friends and family for them.