Reset

Before Emma had a chance to reply Regina had stepped back into the house and slammed the door closed in Emma’s face. Emma stared at the door for a few moments before shaking her head and turning around and walking back down the pathway and into Mifflin Street. She turned away from the direction of the main street and began walking around the residential areas of Storybrooke’s prosperous neighbourhoods in the hope that she wouldn’t bump into anyone.

When Gold had presented the papers she was convinced it was some kind of a trap but now she started to scan her memory she couldn’t remember the last time Regina and Henry had spoken. Or even the last time Henry had been civil to Regina. He always ignored her, did whatever he could to avoid her, refused to go and see her or return her numerous phone calls. But then Emma had done nothing to attempt to bridge the gap between them, it suited her that Henry wanted nothing to do with the brunette. No more arguments about his eating habits, bedtime, school work or hair length.

To be honest it hadn’t even occurred to Emma how Regina must have been feeling during that time. Emma recalled the time that Regina had forbidden the two of them to have any contact, she had been distraught and pestered Mary Margaret for any news of him. Regina had no such connection, no way of gathering news on Henry’s wellbeing.

And now she was giving Henry up, throwing him away like a bored child sick of a toy. Emma felt a sickness rising up within her, the horrible feeling of abandonment that had followed her throughout her life. She allowed a tear to fall from her eye as she wondered how she would break this news to Henry, he’d be devastated.

“Emma!”

She turned around to see David’s pickup truck following her up the road with her father calling her name out of the window.

Emma rubbed the tears from her eyes and approached the truck, “hi..”

“Hey,” he said with a grim smile, “Ruby called me, she said you might need some company?”

Emma gave him a sad smile and nodded as she climbed into the passenger seat of the truck, “she told you?”

“Regina is giving you custody of Henry?” David nodded, he could tell that Emma was obviously upset but he didn’t seem to understand why, “isn’t that good news?”

Emma gave a half-hearted laugh, “not really..”

David was obviously trying, and failing, to understand, “wanna talk about it?”

“She’s.. she’s abandoning Henry,” Emma sniffed, “he’s gonna be crushed!”

David got his fabric handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and handed it to his daughter, “will he? He hasn’t given us an indication that he wants to see her..”

Emma took the handkerchief and drabbed at her eyes, “he might not understand it straight away but when he does.. when he realises that she’s let him go.. he’ll find it hard.”

“Then we’ll be strong for him,” David said resolutely and put his hand on Emma’s shoulder with a reassuring squeeze, “he has a family who loves him.”

Chapter 3

"How do we know it's not a trick?" Mary Margaret asked as she busied herself around the kitchen making tea for the assembled guests in her small apartment.

"What kind of trick?" David asked his wife as he leaned on the opposite wall with his arms folded across his chest.

"Exactly!" Mary Margaret pointed a teaspoon at her husband, "Regina's always three steps ahead of us!"

"I've read this contract three times, so has Edith from Marlow's Accounting," Granny said as she tapped her finger on the manila folder that sat centre stage on the dining room table, "we can't see anything out of the ordinary."

"Maybe it's a trick to force you to get Henry to see her, maybe she's bluffing?" Ruby suggested to Emma.

"It's a dangerous bluff, I could just sign the contract and that takes away all her power," Emma pointed out with a shrug.

"You spoke to her," Mary Margaret said, "how did she seem?"

"I dunno," Emma admitted with a sigh, "she tried to act like it didn't bother her, she got a bit upset.. I don't know. I don't think she's up to anything, I really don't. I think she honestly believes this is best for Henry."

"There was one thing in the small print," Granny said as she flipped the folder opened and looked for a paragraph, "here, it states very clearly that she doesn't want any formal arrangement regarding visiting Henry."

Mary Margaret placed a tray on the table and looked at the paragraph that Granny pointed to, "why would she do that?"

"I don't know," Granny admitted, "she's not averse to seeing him in general but she doesn't want to be a part of his care, it's odd."

"She's cutting herself off from him," Emma said grimly.

"What's this?" Mary Margaret asked as she pointed to another clause in the fine print.

"Oh, yes," Granny grinned, "that's typical Regina, she states that Emma cannot make a claim on any other child within Storybrooke limits unless she has physically given birth to it!"

"Is she planning to steal someone else's kid?" Ruby asked with a shudder.