The Second Hand Unwinds (Part 17/?) - Once Upon A Time - Regina/Emma
Title: The Second Hand Unwinds (Part 17/?)
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Rating: Hard R for the entire story
Pairings/Characters: Emma/Regina (eventually), Henry, Mary Margaret, all of Storybrooke
Summary: What if when Sidney cut Emma's brakes, the accident hadn't been so minor? And how will one little incident cause everything to unravel?
Spoilers: Up to 1x11, then goes decidedly AU
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: Wow. I owe you guys a big, big, big apology for taking this long to update this fic. I honestly can't say anything other than that I am so sorry to leave you hanging for so long. I got a bit burnt out on this one and ended up taking a lot more time than I planned before I got back to it. Which just goes to show that I should never start posting stories until they're finished, but... anyway. All the thanks in the world goes out to damelola and adventurepants without who this chapter would honestly not have gotten written. They both deserve medals for putting up with me and badgering me to get this finished. Also, I know that this might feel drawn out, but I do promise that the light is becoming visible at the end of the tunnel (for me at least) and there will be a lot more in terms of "action" in the upcoming chapters. And I promise not to make you wait so long for them!
Mary Margaret was already home and in the kitchen when Emma entered the apartment.
"Oh, there you are! I was just about to start dinner."
Emma shoved her hands in her pockets as she took in her roommate. "Yeah, um, about that. How do you feel about having two more people for dinner?"
Mary Margaret frowned and Emma felt her heart sink. She should've checked with the other woman first, instead of just assuming it would be okay. Even though this place might feel like home - and that was scary enough - it really wasn't. "I've told you time and time again, Emma, we don't have people for dinner, we have food."
Emma blinked. "Was that a - did you just make a joke? About cannibalism?"
Mary Margaret laughed at the look on Emma's face. "I'm assuming that the two people that are coming over to join us for dinner tonight are Regina and Henry?"
"Yes." Emma nodded. "Is that okay? I should've asked first. I'm sorry. I -"
"Emma," Mary Margaret said calmly, her voice sounding motherly, "it's fine. I'm happy to have them over. On one condition."
Emma's hands dug deeper into her pockets as she chewed her lip. "And that is?"
"You have to help me make dinner."
Emma's eyes widened. "No way. Mary Margaret, I'm a disaster in the kitchen! Remember when I tried to make boxed mac and cheese and nearly burned the apartment down?"
Mary Margaret stopped in her tracks, staring at Emma with an unreadable expression on her face.
"Oh, come on, don't tell me you forgot that." Emma sighed exasperatedly.
"No. Of course not." Mary Margaret shook her head, but her eyes stayed focused on Emma. "But Emma… you remembered it."
"What?" Emma frowned, until suddenly it struck her. "Oh my god! Mary Margaret, I remembered that!"
Small, but deceptively strong, arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a crushing hug. "You remembered." Mary Margaret laughed. "Do you remember anything else?"
Emma pulled back and searched her brain. The memory of making the macaroni and cheese and accidentally catching the box on fire in the process was easy to recover and just as vivid as the other memories she had of her time in Boston. She remembered everything without any question or confusion. But as she tried to piece together other memories of her time in Storybrooke, she found that they were just as out of reach or disjointed and jumbled as always. "No." She frowned. "Nothing else like that."
"Hey." Mary Margaret squeezed her arms, still smiling widely. "That's okay. You remembered something. And I'm sure the rest of it will come in time. This is something to be excited about!"
"I remembered something." Emma grinned. It was a trivial memory, nothing of any major importance in it, but she remembered it. It was there, where before there had only been a vast sea of blackness. It was the lighthouse she'd been searching for.
"Now come on," Mary Margaret pulled away, turning back toward the stove, "I've got just the thing in mind. And tonight, there will be no fires."
**
Just as the minute hand moved into place over the twelve to proclaim it six o'clock, the knock sounded at the door.
"Punctual." Emma smirked at Mary Margaret.
"That's Regina, all right." The teacher agreed.
The sheriff moved to the door, opening it only to have Henry fling himself at her. "Emma!"
"Henry." She heard Regina scold, but she just laughed and hugged him. As much as this whole thing scared her, she couldn't deny how good it felt to hold her son in her arms.
"Hey, kid." She ruffled his hair before looking up at Regina. The mayor looked beautiful in black slacks and a bluish gray silk shirt. Emma's eyes focused on the silk shirt, something about it capturing her attention. She could feel that same niggling at the back of her mind, telling her that there was something important about that shirt, but no matter how hard she wracked her brain, she couldn't come up with anything.
"Emma? You okay?" Henry's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked down to see him looking at her with concern on his face. She realized that her arms had gone limp.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just," she offered a smile at Regina who was still standing in the doorway, also looking concerned, "you look really beautiful."
She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks at the words, but the smile that lit Regina's face chased it away. "Thank you, Emma."
"Please, come in. Dinner's ready."
"Cool!" Henry exclaimed, racing for the kitchen and Mary Margaret. "What are we having, Miss Blanchard?"
"You'll have to ask Emma that. She made it."
Emma held her hands up. "With a lot of help. So it should be edible, I swear."
Mary Margaret laughed. "Emma's not the greatest in the kitchen. But she's getting much better. There were no fires when she made dinner this time." They had agreed not to tell Regina and Henry about Emma's memory for the time being. Emma didn't want to get Henry's hopes up because she knew that it was very possible that the whole thing had been a fluke.
"Thanks, Mary Margaret." Emma rolled her eyes.
"So, what are we having for dinner, Emma?" Regina asked. "Whatever it is, it smells wonderful."
"Oh." Emma grinned. "Well, we're having a Caesar salad to start and then a vegetable stir fry over rice."
"Awesome!" Henry exclaimed, already heading for the table.
"Henry, wash up first." Regina called after him.
"Okay, Mom."
"Mary Margaret made the rice. I don't think she trusts me to boil water. But I did the stir fry. And mixed up the salad."
Emma looked adorably proud of her contribution to the dinner and Regina couldn't stop her own smile from blossoming. "I'm sure it will all be delicious."
"Mom! Emma! Come on, I'm starving!"
The two women laughed and headed for the kitchen, Regina just in front of Emma. Without a thought, Emma placed her hand on the small of Regina's back to help guide her, but as soon as she felt the silk against her skin, she pulled back. Regina glanced back at her with a puzzled look, but Emma was too distracted to notice it. There was definitely something important about that shirt.
"This salad is really good, Emma!" Henry encouraged from his place at the table where he was already eating.
"Henry! Where are your manners?" Regina frowned at the sight of him already eating, but Henry just shrugged.
"Miss Blanchard said it was okay." He defended and Regina felt annoyance bubble within her as she looked over at Mary Margaret, but she quickly tamped it down. The woman hadn't meant any harm.
"Sorry we took so long, kid." Emma grinned, already grabbing a bowl for herself.
"S'okay." Henry assured around a mouthful of salad and Regina just managed not to reprimand him for it. Instead she focused on getting her own bowl of salad. She would not ruin this dinner with her temper. Not when everything seemed to be going so well in her relationships with these people right now.
"So, how's school going?" Emma asked and Henry regaled them with details about school as they ate their salads.
After they'd finished their salads, Emma served up their plates and carried them to the table while Regina, Henry, and Mary Margaret applauded her efforts. She blushed deeply and felt embarrassment twist in her stomach at their reactions, but she also couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride too.
Growing up in the system, her achievements had never been applauded. Other kids got their tests put on refrigerators and overenthusiastic cheering sections at soccer games, but Emma had never had that. After a while, it really didn't seem that important to get As when no one cared one way or the other and if she had any talents, they were never nurtured so they fell to the wayside.
She cleared her throat and blinked back the sudden moisture that had formed in her eyes. "Seriously, guys, I wouldn't applaud yet. You don't even know if it's any good."
"It's so good!" Henry exclaimed around a mouthful of rice and Emma couldn't stop her laughter.
With a smile, she started to eat, too. It really was pretty good, she had to say. Certainly better than anything else she'd made before.
Regina chewed her food, doing her best to keep her features schooled when she tasted that the mushrooms were rather under done. Everything else in the stir fry was delicious and for Emma's first attempt, she would not say anything. She would just slide her mushrooms to the side as Henry was already doing. He'd never liked them anyway, and she could easily feign her own dislike of them.
It was only as she was swallowing the bite with the mushroom and considering that next time she would make dinner - or better yet, she'd teach Emma to make something in her kitchen - that Regina found herself wondering why it was that she was so actively trying not to hurt Emma's feelings. Before, she would've gone out of her way to point out Emma's shortcomings, going so far as to make up complaints if need be. But now, she was more concerned with sparing Emma's feelings. Why on earth was that?
She quickly shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and refocused on Emma. "So, Emma, have you given any more thought to what we discussed this afternoon?" She asked innocently.
Emma's eyes widened just a bit at the mention, her gaze darting from Henry to Mary Margaret and then back to Regina. "Oh, uh, no. Not, um, not really." She really wished Regina hadn't brought that up, and especially not in front of Henry and Mary Margaret. It would only get the kid's hopes up and Mary Margaret would be upset that she hadn't talked to her about it yet.
"What did you discuss this afternoon?" Mary Margaret asked curiously, chewing and swallowing a mushroom without any complaint.
"Oh, nothing." Emma tried, but Regina was already answering as well.
"I asked Miss Swan to consider taking her old job back."
"Regina." Emma frowned.
"What?" Mary Margaret looked between the two women.
"Seriously? Awesome!" Henry exclaimed with a grin. "What did you say, Emma?"
"I - uh," Emma shook her head, hating that she had been put on the spot like this, "I said I'd have to think about it for a while."
"You should do it!" Henry encouraged. "Sidney's no good as sheriff. You were way better."
Emma couldn't help but smile at that just a bit. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid, but like I told your mom, I need some time to think about it."
Henry nodded at that and Regina leaned back, feeling pleased with herself. She was used to manipulating people for her own gain and this had been an easy manipulation to pull off. Now, she just had to wait and see if it worked.
"Oh!" Emma exclaimed as she took a bite of her stir fry that had a mushroom in it. "Why didn't you guys tell me the mushrooms were under done?"
Henry shrugged. "I don't like mushrooms, so I didn't eat them." He pointed to his little pile of picked out mushrooms.
"They're not that bad, Emma." Mary Margaret assured, even as she ate another mushroom to further her point. Once again, Emma was struck by what a good friend she was.
"You don't have to eat them, Mary Margaret. Really. They're terrible." Emma said as she squeezed the teacher's hand, which caused a huge smile to light up her face. Emma took it as her being thankful that she wouldn't have to suffer through the mushrooms anymore, not joy that Emma was touching her.
"And you," Emma turned to Regina, "I'd think you of all people would've called me out."
Regina shrugged and pointed to her own pile of mushrooms. "I am not a fan of mushrooms either."
"Bull." Emma pointed her fork in Regina's direction. "You always get sautéed mushrooms with your steak when you order one at Granny's."
"Emma!" Mary Margaret's voice held the same wonder as it had earlier when she'd remembered the mac and cheese incident.
"You remember that?" Henry asked eagerly. Regina was still surprised that Emma had ever noticed such a detail at all, let alone seemed to remember it now.
Emma blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do."
"What else do you remember?" Henry pressed.
"Henry." Regina shook her head. "Emma is still recovering. It won't help to push her."
Emma offered Henry a smile. "I don't remember much at this point, kid. Little flashes of things like that, but not anything big. Nothing major as of now."
"Still," Henry stayed optimistic, "it's a good sign, right?"
Emma glanced at Mary Margaret and then offered a small nod. "We think so."
"Well," Mary Margaret spoke up, "under done mushrooms or not, dinner was delicious."
"I agree." Regina nodded at Emma.
"Thanks." Emma shrugged with a smile.
**
After the dinner dishes had been cleared away, Henry headed for the living room to pick out a movie with Emma while Regina and Mary Margaret cleaned up the kitchen.
"What about this one?" Henry held up a DVD to Emma and she was pleased to see that it wasn't a movie that could make Henry reference the curse.
"Looks good, kid." She assured him with a smile.
"So, what movie did we decide on?" Regina asked as she came in and sat down next to Emma on the couch.
"Iron Man 2." Henry grinned.
"Imagine that." Regina teased good naturedly and Henry flashed her a smile that made her heart flutter. She was still getting used to him not hating her.
"You've seen it before, I take it?" Emma smirked.
"Only one or two thousand times."
"It's awesome!" Henry defended as he put the movie in. Regina just shook her head but said nothing.
Mary Margaret brought a bowl of popcorn into the room with her, which she handed off to Henry before sitting in one of the chairs in the room. Henry plopped on the floor in front of the couch and although there was no real reason for them to stay sitting so closely now, neither Regina nor Emma moved from their spot.
As the movie played, Emma found her thoughts wondering. She had decided to stay for only a week, but already that decision was being tested. Each day it seemed like there were more and more reasons for her to stay piling up. But could she do it?
Maybe she had been sheriff before, but was she really cut out to do it again when she couldn't remember anything about this town or its people but the smallest, throw away details? And what about Henry? Although she'd been in his life before, she couldn't help but think that it hadn't been in the most positive of ways. Now that he appeared to be getting along with Regina, could she really reinsert herself into their lives and run the risk of ruining that dynamic?
She shifted as she considered these things and found her arm rubbing against Regina's, the silk of the mayor's shirt sliding against her skin. Again, that feeling came to her, the one that said that this shirt was somehow important. It felt familiar against her skin and Regina had made no move to get away from Emma, so she allowed herself to lean against the other woman, trying to place the feeling and why it mattered.
She hated this the most. The frustration at knowing that the memories were there, just the littlest bit out of reach. Why couldn't she just retrieve them? Why couldn't see look at the shirt and know why it mattered? Why did everything have to be such a struggle?
"Are you alright?" Regina asked softly, noticing the strained look on Emma's face.
Emma jerked away at the sound of her voice, then quickly offered a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine."
Regina wanted to protest that she obviously wasn't fine, but she also didn't want to push Emma too far. She was already on slightly shaky ground after bringing up the sheriff's job and lying about the mushrooms. If she pushed more, it might only serve to firm Emma's resolve to leave. And that was not something that Regina wanted, even if she couldn't understand why.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the credit music beginning to play. Emma moved off the couch, grabbing the now empty bowl of popcorn and taking it to the kitchen, even as Henry continued to watch, waiting for the scenes he knew would play after the credits.
"Come on, Henry, we need to get home. It's a school night." Regina told him as she stood up too and although he looked ready to protest, he shook it off and stood.
"Thank you, Mary Margaret, for having us over this evening."
"Yeah, thanks Miss Blanchard." Henry smiled.
"You're very welcome. You know you're welcome any time." Mary Margaret offered warm smiles for both of them.
"You guys leaving?" Emma asked as she came back into the room, only to be caught off guard by Henry's hug.
"Yes, we need to get home. But thank you for dinner. It really was delicious."
"Minus the mushrooms." Emma laughed as she hugged Henry back. "Good night, kid."
"Night, Emma."
Emma walked them to the door, offering Regina a smile. "Goodbye, Madam Mayor."
"Good night, Miss Swan." She winked as she pulled the door closed behind her.
**
"So, are you considering taking the sheriff's position back?" Mary Margaret asked from the doorway of the bedroom where Emma was already sprawled on the bed in her pajamas, her thoughts too scattered to sleep.
"I'm sorry you had to find out like that." She said as she sat up. "I was honestly planning on telling you. Regina just sort of beat me to the punch. Which, I think, was purposeful."
Mary Margaret was almost sure it had been as well, but she feigned surprise as she walked over and settled on the edge of Emma's bed. "Oh? What makes you say that?"
Emma shrugged a bit, then ruffled her short hair. "She brought it up in front of Henry, knowing it would get his hopes up and that I wouldn't want to let him down."
"Mm. And?"
Emma flopped back on her pillows. "And I don't know. I don't want to let the kid down, but I'm still not sure I'm staying for more than the week and even if I am - me? The sheriff?"
"You did alright before." Mary Margaret reminded her.
Emma snorted. "If that's even true, I don't remember any of it. How am I supposed to be the sheriff if I can't even remember anyone in the town?"
"You're getting your memories back slowly. I think that you're just scared. And that's okay, too. But you did do a good job as sheriff. And I for one would like to see you back in uniform." Mary Margaret patted her leg before she stood.
"There's a uniform?" Emma groaned and Mary Margaret just laughed.
"If you're still not sure, why don't you go over to the station tomorrow? Maybe it'll trigger some memories. And if not, it might still help you make your decision."
"Why are you so good at this?" Emma asked.
Mary Margaret just shrugged, even as the words 'I'm your mom, it's what I do' floated through her head.
**
Sleep didn't come easily to Emma that night and when it did, it was once again filled with dreams that she couldn't understand and woke frequently from. In some of them, she was wearing the shirt that Regina had been wearing earlier, the silk cool against her skin. In one of those dreams, Regina leaned in close to her, staring her up and down and telling her to enjoy the shirt. Emma woke from that dream confused and short of breath.
The other dreams were similar in that either she or Regina were always close to the other. There was one involving a chain saw and another where she seemed to be slamming Regina against a wall of some kind. There were also the flashes she'd had before, of Regina leaning in to her and asking for her help, for her to bring him to her. Emma assumed the him was Henry but she couldn't be sure. None of the dreams lasted very long but they played over and over, jumbling together in her head until she couldn't sleep because she was trying to figure them out.
Across town, Regina wasn't fairing much better, her own thoughts occupied by her actions at dinner. When Emma had complimented her, she hadn't been able to stop her smile. And the few times Emma had touched her, she'd felt heat course through her body. Then there were the mushrooms and the way she hadn't wanted to hurt Emma's feelings. None of it made any sense and she was still stuck on why she'd even wanted the woman back in the first place.
She mulled over all the possibilities - her boredom, Henry's want of Emma - but they still didn't seem to add up in the face of what she'd done - what she'd risked - to bring Emma back. There was one other possibility that tickled at the back of her mind but she quickly pushed it away. It was impossible and she wouldn't spend her time thinking about it. No, she needed another answer - a plausible answer. And there was only person who could give it to her.
**
Mary Margaret felt a vague sense of déjà vu when she heard the sound of heels clicking in the hallway outside her classroom early the next morning.
"Regina," she smiled as the mayor entered the room this time, doing her best to appear welcoming, "what brings you by so early this morning?"
"I -" Regina faltered, still not comfortable with the reason she was here, even after everything that had happened. "I need to talk to you."
"Of course." Mary Margaret nodded and moved to the guided reading table at the front of the room, motioning for Regina to sit. The chairs were children's sized and for a moment, Regina stared at them with disdain before she shook her head and sat down. "What's going on? Is it something with Henry or Emma or…?"
Regina looked at Mary Margaret, asking the question that had been haunting her all night and led to her coming here this morning. "Why did I bring her back?"
Mary Margaret blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"Emma. Why did I bring her back here?"
Mary Margaret said nothing, just searched Regina's face. Regina hated the silence and the scrutiny so she continued talking.
"I hated her. I wanted her gone. And she was finally gone. So why did I go out of my way to bring her back? I risked everything… my job, my son, everything… just to bring her back here. Why?"
Mary Margaret considered Regina's words for a few moments before offering her a small smile. "I think you already know, Regina. You may not be ready to acknowledge it right now, but deep down inside, I think you do know."
Regina shook her head quickly against the words. "No, I - I don't. I -"
Mary Margaret rose and walked around the table, placing her hands on Regina's shoulders and giving them a soft squeeze. "It's okay. It's okay now and it'll still be okay when you're ready."
"Mary Margaret." Regina almost sounded like she was pleading. "Snow."
"When you're ready, Regina." She assured as the school bell rang and she moved back towards her desk. "When you're ready."
Fandom: Once Upon A Time
Rating: Hard R for the entire story
Pairings/Characters: Emma/Regina (eventually), Henry, Mary Margaret, all of Storybrooke
Summary: What if when Sidney cut Emma's brakes, the accident hadn't been so minor? And how will one little incident cause everything to unravel?
Spoilers: Up to 1x11, then goes decidedly AU
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: Wow. I owe you guys a big, big, big apology for taking this long to update this fic. I honestly can't say anything other than that I am so sorry to leave you hanging for so long. I got a bit burnt out on this one and ended up taking a lot more time than I planned before I got back to it. Which just goes to show that I should never start posting stories until they're finished, but... anyway. All the thanks in the world goes out to damelola and adventurepants without who this chapter would honestly not have gotten written. They both deserve medals for putting up with me and badgering me to get this finished. Also, I know that this might feel drawn out, but I do promise that the light is becoming visible at the end of the tunnel (for me at least) and there will be a lot more in terms of "action" in the upcoming chapters. And I promise not to make you wait so long for them!
Mary Margaret was already home and in the kitchen when Emma entered the apartment.
"Oh, there you are! I was just about to start dinner."
Emma shoved her hands in her pockets as she took in her roommate. "Yeah, um, about that. How do you feel about having two more people for dinner?"
Mary Margaret frowned and Emma felt her heart sink. She should've checked with the other woman first, instead of just assuming it would be okay. Even though this place might feel like home - and that was scary enough - it really wasn't. "I've told you time and time again, Emma, we don't have people for dinner, we have food."
Emma blinked. "Was that a - did you just make a joke? About cannibalism?"
Mary Margaret laughed at the look on Emma's face. "I'm assuming that the two people that are coming over to join us for dinner tonight are Regina and Henry?"
"Yes." Emma nodded. "Is that okay? I should've asked first. I'm sorry. I -"
"Emma," Mary Margaret said calmly, her voice sounding motherly, "it's fine. I'm happy to have them over. On one condition."
Emma's hands dug deeper into her pockets as she chewed her lip. "And that is?"
"You have to help me make dinner."
Emma's eyes widened. "No way. Mary Margaret, I'm a disaster in the kitchen! Remember when I tried to make boxed mac and cheese and nearly burned the apartment down?"
Mary Margaret stopped in her tracks, staring at Emma with an unreadable expression on her face.
"Oh, come on, don't tell me you forgot that." Emma sighed exasperatedly.
"No. Of course not." Mary Margaret shook her head, but her eyes stayed focused on Emma. "But Emma… you remembered it."
"What?" Emma frowned, until suddenly it struck her. "Oh my god! Mary Margaret, I remembered that!"
Small, but deceptively strong, arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a crushing hug. "You remembered." Mary Margaret laughed. "Do you remember anything else?"
Emma pulled back and searched her brain. The memory of making the macaroni and cheese and accidentally catching the box on fire in the process was easy to recover and just as vivid as the other memories she had of her time in Boston. She remembered everything without any question or confusion. But as she tried to piece together other memories of her time in Storybrooke, she found that they were just as out of reach or disjointed and jumbled as always. "No." She frowned. "Nothing else like that."
"Hey." Mary Margaret squeezed her arms, still smiling widely. "That's okay. You remembered something. And I'm sure the rest of it will come in time. This is something to be excited about!"
"I remembered something." Emma grinned. It was a trivial memory, nothing of any major importance in it, but she remembered it. It was there, where before there had only been a vast sea of blackness. It was the lighthouse she'd been searching for.
"Now come on," Mary Margaret pulled away, turning back toward the stove, "I've got just the thing in mind. And tonight, there will be no fires."
**
Just as the minute hand moved into place over the twelve to proclaim it six o'clock, the knock sounded at the door.
"Punctual." Emma smirked at Mary Margaret.
"That's Regina, all right." The teacher agreed.
The sheriff moved to the door, opening it only to have Henry fling himself at her. "Emma!"
"Henry." She heard Regina scold, but she just laughed and hugged him. As much as this whole thing scared her, she couldn't deny how good it felt to hold her son in her arms.
"Hey, kid." She ruffled his hair before looking up at Regina. The mayor looked beautiful in black slacks and a bluish gray silk shirt. Emma's eyes focused on the silk shirt, something about it capturing her attention. She could feel that same niggling at the back of her mind, telling her that there was something important about that shirt, but no matter how hard she wracked her brain, she couldn't come up with anything.
"Emma? You okay?" Henry's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked down to see him looking at her with concern on his face. She realized that her arms had gone limp.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just," she offered a smile at Regina who was still standing in the doorway, also looking concerned, "you look really beautiful."
She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks at the words, but the smile that lit Regina's face chased it away. "Thank you, Emma."
"Please, come in. Dinner's ready."
"Cool!" Henry exclaimed, racing for the kitchen and Mary Margaret. "What are we having, Miss Blanchard?"
"You'll have to ask Emma that. She made it."
Emma held her hands up. "With a lot of help. So it should be edible, I swear."
Mary Margaret laughed. "Emma's not the greatest in the kitchen. But she's getting much better. There were no fires when she made dinner this time." They had agreed not to tell Regina and Henry about Emma's memory for the time being. Emma didn't want to get Henry's hopes up because she knew that it was very possible that the whole thing had been a fluke.
"Thanks, Mary Margaret." Emma rolled her eyes.
"So, what are we having for dinner, Emma?" Regina asked. "Whatever it is, it smells wonderful."
"Oh." Emma grinned. "Well, we're having a Caesar salad to start and then a vegetable stir fry over rice."
"Awesome!" Henry exclaimed, already heading for the table.
"Henry, wash up first." Regina called after him.
"Okay, Mom."
"Mary Margaret made the rice. I don't think she trusts me to boil water. But I did the stir fry. And mixed up the salad."
Emma looked adorably proud of her contribution to the dinner and Regina couldn't stop her own smile from blossoming. "I'm sure it will all be delicious."
"Mom! Emma! Come on, I'm starving!"
The two women laughed and headed for the kitchen, Regina just in front of Emma. Without a thought, Emma placed her hand on the small of Regina's back to help guide her, but as soon as she felt the silk against her skin, she pulled back. Regina glanced back at her with a puzzled look, but Emma was too distracted to notice it. There was definitely something important about that shirt.
"This salad is really good, Emma!" Henry encouraged from his place at the table where he was already eating.
"Henry! Where are your manners?" Regina frowned at the sight of him already eating, but Henry just shrugged.
"Miss Blanchard said it was okay." He defended and Regina felt annoyance bubble within her as she looked over at Mary Margaret, but she quickly tamped it down. The woman hadn't meant any harm.
"Sorry we took so long, kid." Emma grinned, already grabbing a bowl for herself.
"S'okay." Henry assured around a mouthful of salad and Regina just managed not to reprimand him for it. Instead she focused on getting her own bowl of salad. She would not ruin this dinner with her temper. Not when everything seemed to be going so well in her relationships with these people right now.
"So, how's school going?" Emma asked and Henry regaled them with details about school as they ate their salads.
After they'd finished their salads, Emma served up their plates and carried them to the table while Regina, Henry, and Mary Margaret applauded her efforts. She blushed deeply and felt embarrassment twist in her stomach at their reactions, but she also couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride too.
Growing up in the system, her achievements had never been applauded. Other kids got their tests put on refrigerators and overenthusiastic cheering sections at soccer games, but Emma had never had that. After a while, it really didn't seem that important to get As when no one cared one way or the other and if she had any talents, they were never nurtured so they fell to the wayside.
She cleared her throat and blinked back the sudden moisture that had formed in her eyes. "Seriously, guys, I wouldn't applaud yet. You don't even know if it's any good."
"It's so good!" Henry exclaimed around a mouthful of rice and Emma couldn't stop her laughter.
With a smile, she started to eat, too. It really was pretty good, she had to say. Certainly better than anything else she'd made before.
Regina chewed her food, doing her best to keep her features schooled when she tasted that the mushrooms were rather under done. Everything else in the stir fry was delicious and for Emma's first attempt, she would not say anything. She would just slide her mushrooms to the side as Henry was already doing. He'd never liked them anyway, and she could easily feign her own dislike of them.
It was only as she was swallowing the bite with the mushroom and considering that next time she would make dinner - or better yet, she'd teach Emma to make something in her kitchen - that Regina found herself wondering why it was that she was so actively trying not to hurt Emma's feelings. Before, she would've gone out of her way to point out Emma's shortcomings, going so far as to make up complaints if need be. But now, she was more concerned with sparing Emma's feelings. Why on earth was that?
She quickly shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts and refocused on Emma. "So, Emma, have you given any more thought to what we discussed this afternoon?" She asked innocently.
Emma's eyes widened just a bit at the mention, her gaze darting from Henry to Mary Margaret and then back to Regina. "Oh, uh, no. Not, um, not really." She really wished Regina hadn't brought that up, and especially not in front of Henry and Mary Margaret. It would only get the kid's hopes up and Mary Margaret would be upset that she hadn't talked to her about it yet.
"What did you discuss this afternoon?" Mary Margaret asked curiously, chewing and swallowing a mushroom without any complaint.
"Oh, nothing." Emma tried, but Regina was already answering as well.
"I asked Miss Swan to consider taking her old job back."
"Regina." Emma frowned.
"What?" Mary Margaret looked between the two women.
"Seriously? Awesome!" Henry exclaimed with a grin. "What did you say, Emma?"
"I - uh," Emma shook her head, hating that she had been put on the spot like this, "I said I'd have to think about it for a while."
"You should do it!" Henry encouraged. "Sidney's no good as sheriff. You were way better."
Emma couldn't help but smile at that just a bit. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, kid, but like I told your mom, I need some time to think about it."
Henry nodded at that and Regina leaned back, feeling pleased with herself. She was used to manipulating people for her own gain and this had been an easy manipulation to pull off. Now, she just had to wait and see if it worked.
"Oh!" Emma exclaimed as she took a bite of her stir fry that had a mushroom in it. "Why didn't you guys tell me the mushrooms were under done?"
Henry shrugged. "I don't like mushrooms, so I didn't eat them." He pointed to his little pile of picked out mushrooms.
"They're not that bad, Emma." Mary Margaret assured, even as she ate another mushroom to further her point. Once again, Emma was struck by what a good friend she was.
"You don't have to eat them, Mary Margaret. Really. They're terrible." Emma said as she squeezed the teacher's hand, which caused a huge smile to light up her face. Emma took it as her being thankful that she wouldn't have to suffer through the mushrooms anymore, not joy that Emma was touching her.
"And you," Emma turned to Regina, "I'd think you of all people would've called me out."
Regina shrugged and pointed to her own pile of mushrooms. "I am not a fan of mushrooms either."
"Bull." Emma pointed her fork in Regina's direction. "You always get sautéed mushrooms with your steak when you order one at Granny's."
"Emma!" Mary Margaret's voice held the same wonder as it had earlier when she'd remembered the mac and cheese incident.
"You remember that?" Henry asked eagerly. Regina was still surprised that Emma had ever noticed such a detail at all, let alone seemed to remember it now.
Emma blinked. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do."
"What else do you remember?" Henry pressed.
"Henry." Regina shook her head. "Emma is still recovering. It won't help to push her."
Emma offered Henry a smile. "I don't remember much at this point, kid. Little flashes of things like that, but not anything big. Nothing major as of now."
"Still," Henry stayed optimistic, "it's a good sign, right?"
Emma glanced at Mary Margaret and then offered a small nod. "We think so."
"Well," Mary Margaret spoke up, "under done mushrooms or not, dinner was delicious."
"I agree." Regina nodded at Emma.
"Thanks." Emma shrugged with a smile.
**
After the dinner dishes had been cleared away, Henry headed for the living room to pick out a movie with Emma while Regina and Mary Margaret cleaned up the kitchen.
"What about this one?" Henry held up a DVD to Emma and she was pleased to see that it wasn't a movie that could make Henry reference the curse.
"Looks good, kid." She assured him with a smile.
"So, what movie did we decide on?" Regina asked as she came in and sat down next to Emma on the couch.
"Iron Man 2." Henry grinned.
"Imagine that." Regina teased good naturedly and Henry flashed her a smile that made her heart flutter. She was still getting used to him not hating her.
"You've seen it before, I take it?" Emma smirked.
"Only one or two thousand times."
"It's awesome!" Henry defended as he put the movie in. Regina just shook her head but said nothing.
Mary Margaret brought a bowl of popcorn into the room with her, which she handed off to Henry before sitting in one of the chairs in the room. Henry plopped on the floor in front of the couch and although there was no real reason for them to stay sitting so closely now, neither Regina nor Emma moved from their spot.
As the movie played, Emma found her thoughts wondering. She had decided to stay for only a week, but already that decision was being tested. Each day it seemed like there were more and more reasons for her to stay piling up. But could she do it?
Maybe she had been sheriff before, but was she really cut out to do it again when she couldn't remember anything about this town or its people but the smallest, throw away details? And what about Henry? Although she'd been in his life before, she couldn't help but think that it hadn't been in the most positive of ways. Now that he appeared to be getting along with Regina, could she really reinsert herself into their lives and run the risk of ruining that dynamic?
She shifted as she considered these things and found her arm rubbing against Regina's, the silk of the mayor's shirt sliding against her skin. Again, that feeling came to her, the one that said that this shirt was somehow important. It felt familiar against her skin and Regina had made no move to get away from Emma, so she allowed herself to lean against the other woman, trying to place the feeling and why it mattered.
She hated this the most. The frustration at knowing that the memories were there, just the littlest bit out of reach. Why couldn't she just retrieve them? Why couldn't see look at the shirt and know why it mattered? Why did everything have to be such a struggle?
"Are you alright?" Regina asked softly, noticing the strained look on Emma's face.
Emma jerked away at the sound of her voice, then quickly offered a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine."
Regina wanted to protest that she obviously wasn't fine, but she also didn't want to push Emma too far. She was already on slightly shaky ground after bringing up the sheriff's job and lying about the mushrooms. If she pushed more, it might only serve to firm Emma's resolve to leave. And that was not something that Regina wanted, even if she couldn't understand why.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the credit music beginning to play. Emma moved off the couch, grabbing the now empty bowl of popcorn and taking it to the kitchen, even as Henry continued to watch, waiting for the scenes he knew would play after the credits.
"Come on, Henry, we need to get home. It's a school night." Regina told him as she stood up too and although he looked ready to protest, he shook it off and stood.
"Thank you, Mary Margaret, for having us over this evening."
"Yeah, thanks Miss Blanchard." Henry smiled.
"You're very welcome. You know you're welcome any time." Mary Margaret offered warm smiles for both of them.
"You guys leaving?" Emma asked as she came back into the room, only to be caught off guard by Henry's hug.
"Yes, we need to get home. But thank you for dinner. It really was delicious."
"Minus the mushrooms." Emma laughed as she hugged Henry back. "Good night, kid."
"Night, Emma."
Emma walked them to the door, offering Regina a smile. "Goodbye, Madam Mayor."
"Good night, Miss Swan." She winked as she pulled the door closed behind her.
**
"So, are you considering taking the sheriff's position back?" Mary Margaret asked from the doorway of the bedroom where Emma was already sprawled on the bed in her pajamas, her thoughts too scattered to sleep.
"I'm sorry you had to find out like that." She said as she sat up. "I was honestly planning on telling you. Regina just sort of beat me to the punch. Which, I think, was purposeful."
Mary Margaret was almost sure it had been as well, but she feigned surprise as she walked over and settled on the edge of Emma's bed. "Oh? What makes you say that?"
Emma shrugged a bit, then ruffled her short hair. "She brought it up in front of Henry, knowing it would get his hopes up and that I wouldn't want to let him down."
"Mm. And?"
Emma flopped back on her pillows. "And I don't know. I don't want to let the kid down, but I'm still not sure I'm staying for more than the week and even if I am - me? The sheriff?"
"You did alright before." Mary Margaret reminded her.
Emma snorted. "If that's even true, I don't remember any of it. How am I supposed to be the sheriff if I can't even remember anyone in the town?"
"You're getting your memories back slowly. I think that you're just scared. And that's okay, too. But you did do a good job as sheriff. And I for one would like to see you back in uniform." Mary Margaret patted her leg before she stood.
"There's a uniform?" Emma groaned and Mary Margaret just laughed.
"If you're still not sure, why don't you go over to the station tomorrow? Maybe it'll trigger some memories. And if not, it might still help you make your decision."
"Why are you so good at this?" Emma asked.
Mary Margaret just shrugged, even as the words 'I'm your mom, it's what I do' floated through her head.
**
Sleep didn't come easily to Emma that night and when it did, it was once again filled with dreams that she couldn't understand and woke frequently from. In some of them, she was wearing the shirt that Regina had been wearing earlier, the silk cool against her skin. In one of those dreams, Regina leaned in close to her, staring her up and down and telling her to enjoy the shirt. Emma woke from that dream confused and short of breath.
The other dreams were similar in that either she or Regina were always close to the other. There was one involving a chain saw and another where she seemed to be slamming Regina against a wall of some kind. There were also the flashes she'd had before, of Regina leaning in to her and asking for her help, for her to bring him to her. Emma assumed the him was Henry but she couldn't be sure. None of the dreams lasted very long but they played over and over, jumbling together in her head until she couldn't sleep because she was trying to figure them out.
Across town, Regina wasn't fairing much better, her own thoughts occupied by her actions at dinner. When Emma had complimented her, she hadn't been able to stop her smile. And the few times Emma had touched her, she'd felt heat course through her body. Then there were the mushrooms and the way she hadn't wanted to hurt Emma's feelings. None of it made any sense and she was still stuck on why she'd even wanted the woman back in the first place.
She mulled over all the possibilities - her boredom, Henry's want of Emma - but they still didn't seem to add up in the face of what she'd done - what she'd risked - to bring Emma back. There was one other possibility that tickled at the back of her mind but she quickly pushed it away. It was impossible and she wouldn't spend her time thinking about it. No, she needed another answer - a plausible answer. And there was only person who could give it to her.
**
Mary Margaret felt a vague sense of déjà vu when she heard the sound of heels clicking in the hallway outside her classroom early the next morning.
"Regina," she smiled as the mayor entered the room this time, doing her best to appear welcoming, "what brings you by so early this morning?"
"I -" Regina faltered, still not comfortable with the reason she was here, even after everything that had happened. "I need to talk to you."
"Of course." Mary Margaret nodded and moved to the guided reading table at the front of the room, motioning for Regina to sit. The chairs were children's sized and for a moment, Regina stared at them with disdain before she shook her head and sat down. "What's going on? Is it something with Henry or Emma or…?"
Regina looked at Mary Margaret, asking the question that had been haunting her all night and led to her coming here this morning. "Why did I bring her back?"
Mary Margaret blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"Emma. Why did I bring her back here?"
Mary Margaret said nothing, just searched Regina's face. Regina hated the silence and the scrutiny so she continued talking.
"I hated her. I wanted her gone. And she was finally gone. So why did I go out of my way to bring her back? I risked everything… my job, my son, everything… just to bring her back here. Why?"
Mary Margaret considered Regina's words for a few moments before offering her a small smile. "I think you already know, Regina. You may not be ready to acknowledge it right now, but deep down inside, I think you do know."
Regina shook her head quickly against the words. "No, I - I don't. I -"
Mary Margaret rose and walked around the table, placing her hands on Regina's shoulders and giving them a soft squeeze. "It's okay. It's okay now and it'll still be okay when you're ready."
"Mary Margaret." Regina almost sounded like she was pleading. "Snow."
"When you're ready, Regina." She assured as the school bell rang and she moved back towards her desk. "When you're ready."