66A/N: Greetings, friends!
This is the FINAL entry for The Ties That Bind. Thank you to all who read, and especially to those who were constantly reviewing. It means a lot to me. I hope you've enjoyed the story, and remember… all comments, questions, criticisms, and concerns are welcome.
Thank you again, and if you're interested you can find my on tumblr at: MLEther1
Emma Swan leaned back in her chair as she stared out the window of her office in the Sheriff's station. Rubbing her fingers together and sighing, she observed Storybrooke's various citizens making their way from place to place. Almost a year had passed since she was chased out of the diner by angry citizens, but she still couldn't help but feel a peculiar mix of comfort and danger as she watched the citizens shell out friendly greetings and casual partings to each other.
After the apprehension of Rumpelstiltskin and the destruction of his dagger, the citizens had moved from viewing her with utter horror and disdain to a more tolerable form of coexistence consisting of brief, nervous smiles and short conversations. Her parents had been on an unending campaign to shove her in the public light and pump her reputation up by casually inserting her "positive" qualities into each and every conversation at Granny's.
As embarrassing and irritating as it was, their method worked to soothe the public's mind and move them to actually ask her if she would return as Sheriff. She gratefully accepted the position when the mayor formally asked her to resume her duties. Though she wouldn't openly admit it, working as Sheriff had become something she loved.
Glancing over at the silent phone, she heaved a sigh and sunk deeper into her chair. Okay, maybe I don't love it so much right now, she thought.
The phone had been silent for days. Nothing was happening. No cats stuck in trees, Archie was finally keeping a hold on Pongo, no car crashes, no citations, no parking tickets, no complaints about neighbors, no drunk and disorderly, no crazy supernatural character from a dark mythical book coming to destroy the world and threaten their lives.
She tapped her cell phone on her knee as she pushed herself back and forth on her chair. Bored, bored, bored, bored… Regina. Emma sat up in her chair and typed out a message to Regina.
Hey, Regina.
Tossing her phone on her desk she fidgeted a bit more waiting for a reply.
Emma? What's wrong? Are you okay?
Yeah, just bored. Wanted to see what you're up to.
… we agreed not to text each other at work unless it's an emergency after what happened last time. Need I remind you?
Emma flinched as she remembered their two-hour sexting that ended when she felt her phone on a desk while she went to the bathroom and her father accidently grabbing her phone while headed out on patrol.
I'm bored. What are you wearing?
She held her phone tightly, waiting for Regina to respond. She hoped she would finally cave and break their agreement- but when her phone buzzed with a message, her face dropped as she opened it.
Hey, sweetie. Regina just text me saying you were bored. Want to go to lunch?
Sure, meet you at Granny's in ten.
She sighed and rolled her eyes as she typed the next message out to Regina:
Oh, you text my mom? Real mature.
Go to lunch with your mother. See you tonight, love.
Emma pocketed her phone with a smile, shaking her head as she stood up to find her keys. She locked up the office and decided to walk to Granny's to burn up some time.
When she arrived, she was surprised to find both her parents and her baby brother sitting at a booth. Snow saw her and waved delightedly for her to join them. She slid into the booth next to her father, giving him a brief punch on the shoulder in greeting. He smiled and pulled her in to kiss her head. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment with a such a fatherly display of affection, but even though they were essentially the same age- she had started to find their roles as parents to be more and more comfortable.
"Hello entire Charming family," said Ruby as she swooped over with her notepad, "What's the occasion?" Snow fidgeted nervously and started picking invisible lint off baby Neal's blanket. Emma raised an eyebrow, this is weird. She looked over at her dad who simply smiled.
"Oh, just thought we'd get together for lunch. It's been awhile. I'll take the turkey club,"
"BLT," said Snow with a smile and a short, nervous giggle.
"And for you, Emma?" asked Ruby. Emma sat straight up, piercing her mother with her eyes… something wasn't wrong, but the woman seemed really nervous about something.
"Chicken salad, extra dressing," she said in a monotone voice, staring across the table at her mother who refused to meet her eyes for more than a half second.
"Great, I'll be right back," Ruby squeezed Snow's shoulder and gave her a warm smile before sauntering away.
"So, what's that about?" said Emma directly to Snow who jumped.
"What do you mean?" she said paying way too much attention to baby Neal's blanket.
"Oh come on," said Emma leaning back. She looked over at her father who wore suspicious grin, but he simply shrugged his shoulders, "What are you guys up to?"
Charming looked over at Snow who looked at him with quiet desperation.
"Can we?" she muttered towards Charming who smiled warmly and shifted in the booth so he faced Emma.
Her eyes moved rapidly between her parents, her muscles tensing up- she was suddenly reminded of all the times her various foster parents told her that she was being moved to another family.
"Emma," began Snow, tears forming in her eyes as she reached her free hand across the table and grabbed her daughter's hand, "I love you so much. I didn't know how much love I could have for a person until I held you in my arms when you were a baby. It's immeasurable, as endless as the stars. My love for you runs deeper than the bottomless ocean," Emma held her mother's hand and felt her own nervous work up- waiting to hear the inevitable but that comes after someone compliments you, "I want to apologize for sending you away as a baby,"
"Mom…"
"No, let me say this," she said as she grabbed Emma's hand tighter, "I am so, so sorry for how you had to grow up without parents that love you unconditionally, without a family," Emma felt her own tears come to the surface, but held tight, "And when I first met you when you came to Storybrooke, I didn't know that I was your mother, but I loved and trusted you from the beginning. And after the curse broke, I'm so sorry that we never got to really, really talk,"
"It's okay, things kept happening with the town and…" Emma began but she was cut off again by Snow.
"But I want you to know, that I have never been more proud of anyone in my life than I am of you," tears started rolling down her face but she paid them no heed as she continued to look deeply into her daughter's watery eyes and told the complete truth, "You have felt the most incredible pain throughout your life. You've experienced the deepest levels of misery, you've been engulfed by the flames of rage- but you pulled out of it. You pushed through the darkness and climbed into the light with such a captivating love. Even after everything, you put others before yourself and love with every fiber of your being- and I am so proud of you and just in awe at the intelligent, wonderful person I have the privilege of calling my daughter," she finished with a nod and pulled Emma's hand to her mouth to give each of her knuckles a tear-stained kiss. Emma sat completely baffled, tears streaking down her face, but she didn't care. In her mind, there was nobody else in the room but her family.
"Mom, I…"
"Not so fast," said Charming pulling his arm around her, "it's my turn,"
Emma looked to her left in horror, she didn't think she'd be able to take any more.
"My entire life I wanted love. A love so strong I would feel both cripplingly weak and inhumanly powerful at the same time. I thought I had found that with your mother, but when you were born and I took you in my arms, I felt like I could climb the tallest mountains and blaze across every ocean- but I was petrified at the same time," he held a hand up to his mouth and breathed deeply as tears brimmed his eyes, "I was afraid not only because I was sending you off to an unknown realm all alone, but because I knew once you were gone… it… it would destroy me,"
Emma looked at the man next to her. Though his fatherly tendencies occurred frequently in the last year, she never really saw or felt his presence as her father until this moment as he squeezed his arm around her and poured out his soul.
"I knew there was no way I would be able to live knowing that what I loved most in all the realms was out in the world without me. When the curse broke, that surge of love and fear flooded back into my heart and I felt complete, but I was also taken with an overwhelming feeling of guilt. I am so sorry I wasn't there to be with you as you grew up. I am sorry I wasn't there to see your first laugh, your first steps… I'm sorry I wasn't there to comfort you when fell off your bike for the first time," he gave a short laugh as tears flowed freely down his face. His deep blue eyes focused in on hers as he took another deep breath and continued, "I want you to know, that you, Snow, Henry, and Neal are the most important people in my life. I didn't know what to do when I saw you in the field by the farmhouse. I wanted to hold you and take all of your pain from you. But then, when you came back from the farmhouse I saw the strong, beautiful, absolutely outstanding woman you've become. So full of love and passion, I am so incredibly proud of you. You, Emma, are my hero… and I love you so much," he squeezed her tighter and placed a lingering kiss on the top of her head.
Emma released her hand from Snow's grasp and pulled it across her father, drawing him in close. She felt warm, safe, and loved. Charming squeezed as tightly as he could trying to communicate everything he had said and was unable to say.
"I love you too," whispered Emma into his chest. She drew back and wiped tears from her face, looking over at Snow's tear-stained face, "I love both of you," Baby Neal gave a little cry making the three adults laugh, "I love you too, little man," she said as she reached across the table and stroked his soft head gently.
She took Snows hand with her right and her father's with her left, "Thank you. Truly, this means… so much to me. More than I thought," she laughed as she wiped a few tears from her cheeks with her sleeve.
"We have something we'd like to ask you," Snow said to Emma as she glanced towards Charming.
"Technically in this land, everything that happened before the curse isn't exactly legally recognized," Emma looked at them with her brows furrowed.
"What do you mean? You guys have to get remarried or something?" The two laughed.
"No," said Charming with a little laugh, "though we plan to do that at some point in the future,"
"So, what is it?" she said looking back and forth between her parents. Snow smiled and pulled out a thick stack of papers and slid it across the table.
"Regina drew these up for us," she said with a smile.
Emma looked down at the stack in confusion as she read aloud, "State of Maine certification, blah, blah, David Nolan and Mary Margaret Blanchard here do certify according to the laws of naturalization issued by the United States of America to be primary care holders and guardians to…" her breath snapped from her throat as she saw her name.
"Emma Swan," said Snow with a huge smile while fresh tears threatening to be released, "We love you more than we can truly say, you are truly the most incredible person,"
"You are talented, smart, strong, and courageous… among lists and lists of other things," said Charming.
"And we would be so, completely honored- if you would allow us to adopt you," breathed Snow.
Emma sat in shock. She was definitely not expecting this. She looked down at the certificate on top of the stack of papers in front of her and saw an empty, thin black line for her signature. Her hands trembled slightly, Snow and Charming squeezing them gently in response.
Emma couldn't count or even think of how many times she had dreamt of this moment growing up. Finding people who loved her, and she loved them- being a part of something so beautiful and pure. She had felt like a family with Regina and Henry, as well as with Charming and Snow- but this was different. After her parents poured their souls out to her, she felt the strong unconditional bind of parental love- and it hit her like coming upon a field of untouched flowers. But this… this piece of paper in front of her given to her by two people who truly loved her… was something beyond anything she had ever felt.
She looked up at Snow who was fidgeting nervously, her eyes wide with worry. Looking over at Charming she saw him picking his thumb nervously with his teeth as he glanced at her. She looked at Snow, her mother- beautiful, fierce, compassionate, stubborn, and unrelenting. She looked at Charming, her father- handsome, brave, loving, thick-headed, quick-tempered, and completely wonderful. She smiled at them both. Smiling at the qualities that made them outstanding humans- she looked at them and loved every tiny flaw. She loved the nagging, the worrying… she loved every part of them and wanted to prove to them how much she really loved them.
The fact of her being their daughter was undeniable ever since the curse broke, as strange as it had felt, and as rocky the path had been to get to where they are now, she never felt more like their daughter than she did in this moment. It touched her that they would think to make their family legally bound. It moved her beyond words, so she looked over at her father who had a pen in his front pocket and quickly snatched it up.
Taking the cap off, she hovered over the empty line and stole one last glance at the people who would cease to be David and Margaret, Charming and Snow, and once she signs… they become Dad and Mom, officially. She gave a huge toothy smile at her parents and hurriedly dashed the pen across the empty line, capping the act off with a loud plunk as she slammed the pen on the counter.
"I guess that's a yes," laughed Charming.
"Yeah," she said through new tears and fresh laughter.
"We're officially a family," breathed Snow holding Neal close and smiling brilliantly.
"Yeah," breathed Emma, "a family," she smiled.
Thunderous applause broke out across the diner. The Charmings' faces flushed red with embarrassment, having forgotten where they were. The few occupants in the diner cheered tremendously. Emma ducked her head, but recognized a holler above the noise of the cheers. She swirled around to see Henry and Regina at a table in the corner of the diner where Emma wouldn't have seen them when she came in.
Henry was dancing on his chair and whooping, his smile blazing across the air to Emma. Regina shook her head disapprovingly at Henry's behavior but cracked a wry smirk towards Emma.
"Go on, Sweetie," said Snow patting Emma's hand and gesturing towards Henry and Regina. Emma squeezed her hand, gave Charming a short punch on the arm and ran to the other side of the diner where Henry jumped into her arms.
"Mom, this is so cool, you're adopted!" he screamed over the applause as she pulled him in for another hug.
"Yeah kid," she smiled rubbing her knuckles into the top of his head playfully, "We should start a club," she laughed. She looked up and saw Regina smiling at her. The brunette pulled Emma's sleeves and wrapped her arms around her.
"Congratulations," she whispered in her ear. Emma smiled as a tear slipped from her eyes. She buried herself in the brunette's hair and held her tighter before suddenly pushing her back.
"Hey, wait a minute… did you know this whole time?" said the blonde. Regina smirked and shrugged her shoulders. She walked over to the table where Charming and Snow sat, and they pushed the certificate towards her, handing her a pen. She quickly signed her name and placed the pen on the table.
"The signing of the adoption papers needed a witness, and as mayor I thought I would suffice," she said smiling at Emma.
Snow rose from the booth and wrapped an arm around Regina pulling her close.
"Thank you, Regina," she breathed into the woman's ear. She pulled back and squeezed her hand. The two women looked into each other's eyes and watched the past flow between them and slowly dissipate in a warm swirl of complete forgiveness and reconciliation.
Charming stood and hugged Regina, stuttering a small thank you as he tried to control himself now that he remembered he was in public. She nodded firmly as she saw the night she enacted the curse play before his blue eyes and slowly wash away with gratitude. Signing the certificate of adoption as a witness acted as a gesture of vindication and complete absolution.
Regina felt a pair of arms slip around her waist from behind. She smiled as Emma's chin rested on her shoulder, her golden locks flowing down her shoulder as she placed sweet kisses on the former-Evil Queen's shoulder. Henry came to her side and wrapped his arms around both of his mothers.
"Okay," came a shaky voice from behind them, "this is too much," the group turned around to see a tear-streaked Ruby holding their food in her arms." The group laughed as Ruby sniffled and choked down a couple more tears with a huge smile on her face. She rushed over and placed the food on the table with trembling limbs. She hugged Snow, Charming, Emma, and Regina.
"Just… eat your damn food," she said as she ruffled Henry's hair and pulled a couple tissues from her pocket to dab her eyes.
"To the Charmings and the Mills!" came Granny's voice from behind the counter. She reached beneath the counter and pulled out a large tray of overflowing champagne flutes, "drink's on the house!" she cried as the Charmings, the Mills, and the other patrons of the diner rushed over to claim a glass of champagne.
"Congratulations, Emma!"
"Cheers to you all!"
"Long live the queens!"
"Congratulations to you all!"
They all raised the glasses and drank deeply as applause broke out once again before everyone settled back down to happily enjoy their food. Granny moved a couple more chairs to the booth where the Charmings sat for Regina and Henry and brought their food to them. As they talked and ate, Emma placed her hand on Regina's knee and squeezed affectionately. Emma knew that without the brunette's unrelenting help, she would have never known such unfathomable happiness and love. Regina returned her affection and glanced around the table before her eyes rested on Snow.
They looked at each other and with a warm smile and a short nod, let everything wash away- allowing the anticipation of a better, brighter future to cleanse them.
….
As Emma left the diner, she had no clue how she was supposed to go back to work after such an eventful lunch break. She bid farewell to her parents, kissed Regina goodbye, and walked a disappointed Henry back to school. She watched him disappear through the doors of the school and sighed as she began walking to the station. She was grateful for deciding not to drive to the diner; she definitely needed this time to collect herself.
As she walked and walked, she noticed that instead of concrete and asphalt, she was walking on dirt, grass, and twigs. She looked up and noticed she had unconsciously moved her direction to the forest. Looking around, she understood what her subconscious had done. She continued deeper into the woods until she came upon the Mills family crypt. Opening the heavy door, she gulped at the musty, damp air. Three coffins lay next to each other in the center of the room. She walked by them, her hand gently grazing the marble surfaces as she read the names, Henry Mills, Cora Mills, Zelena Mills.
Zelena Mills.
She stopped and placed her hand on the name.
After everything with Rumpelstiltskin had died down, Emma took Regina to the spot in the forest she had buried Zelena's body. Together, they decided to place her in the Mills crypt. Zelena had lived her life alone, and the two women decided that her body should not be alone in death. At the small funeral, which only included Regina, Emma, The Charmings, Henry, Ruby, Robin, and Belle- Emma and Regina placed the vial containing Zelena's crushed heart back into her body. The rest of the affair had been solemn and quiet- most in attendance unsure as to what should be said.
Though everyone denied it, Belle had assumed responsibility for Zelena's untimely death, thus, feeling compelled to offer something at the funeral. Belle had taken the time to find a few verses of poetry about the passing of loved ones to read, along with a few other passages from books about new beginnings.
Ruby was able to gather up a few rather pleasant memories of Zelena from before she had been revealed as the Wicked Witch.
"You always left a generous tip," she had said as she stood by the coffin, "Even though you only ever just ordered tea, you still left really good tips. Thank you for helping me find a good way to get stains out of my aprons, and thanks for telling me that I am a strong person," she finished with a slight quiver in her voice. Robin slung an arm around her, stroking her shoulder affectionately.
Regina looked at Ruby with more appreciation than she was able to express. Even though it strained Ruby's mind to find those memories and say them as a kind remembrance- she was happy she had said them, it was another reminder that even when a person seems to be in their darkest state of mind, acts of kindness are still possible- no matter how small the act may be, and that counts for something.
Everyone else couldn't seem to find anything to say. Charming and Snow seemed to be silently trying to find a way to thank her for being their midwife for a short time, but the fact that she did so with manipulative intentions stopped them from finding the positivity in bringing it up.
Henry simply held his hand on the coffin for a few minutes, contemplating what life would have been like with Aunt Zelena- he didn't find his thoughts about what could have been to be appropriate, so he simply remained silent. The gesture, however, touched and helped both Emma and Regina more than he knew. Emma and Regina were too wrapped up in grief and complicated emotions about Zelena to say anything- they knew it would have to come with time.
Regina, for one, was not fond on dwelling with, "what-if's," so remained silent and mourned her sister's life, and the life that was taken from her. Emma was still working through her opinions on Zelena. Though she had manipulated Emma in the direction of dark magic, the blonde couldn't help but feel like she and Zelena had truly connected over their past. Just as Zelena had awoken something dark within Emma, the blonde felt like at the same she had awoken something light within Zelena. But neither of them would ever know.
As Emma stood over the coffin, she allowed her fingers to gently run across the smooth letters spelling out Zelena's name. Her fingers worked down the coffin to the inscription on the bottom, "Loved," it said.
"Zelena," Emma's hoarse voice cut through the silence of the crypt, "I don't know if you can hear me… I normally don't ever do anything like this, you know? I mean, it's not like you're actually here or anything," she paused as her ears pricked up, though she knew it was impossible- as she said the words she felt like Zelena would stroll around a corner at any second, "Anyway, I… uh… I kind of miss our talks. The ones where I would show up to the station and just tell you about my day and we'd kind of laugh about it and all that," she laughed nervously and pushed herself up so she sat on the coffin, her hand continued to finger Zelena's etched name.
"Today was a really, really good day," she ran her hand through her hair and sighed, "I got adopted," she laughed, "Charming and Snow legally became my parents. I really didn't think it would mean as much as it did. I didn't even think of being adopted by them as a possibility since we're already related by blood," she sighed as she gently moved her fingers around the carved, "Z."
"Do you remember when we were talking about how as kids we dreamed of getting adopted? I don't know, maybe if you put on a big smile and ride into town on a sparkly unicorn, they'll adopt you too," she laughed before her face fell with sadness, "I'm really sorry how things turned out for you. First being abandoned, found, then rejected, abused, manipulated, rejected again… if only you had just one person who could help you- like Regina helped me. I know without a doubt that she would have helped you recognize your self-worth. She really loves you, ya know? And…" she sighed deeply, "I love you too. I found in you a kindred spirit. Another person who had essentially gone through the exact same thing I did. We had the same hopes, dreams, aspirations- but we also shared the same nihilistic outlook, the same anger, bitterness, resentment… we both let others dictate who we became. You know, with all the manipulation and dark magic aside- I bet we would have been really good friends," she ran her finger along the carved coffin, becoming lost in thought.
"Regina said something amazing the other night," she paused as she smiled at the memory, "we were talking about different paths of life. The paths of service, love, duty, charity, the warrior, the politician, mother, father… all of those. And she told me, 'If life were a forest and we had to walk through it, I would venture headfirst into the trees avoiding all the other ways and paths before me.' I asked her why and you know what she said?" Emma's lips curved into a smile, "'Emma, if you come upon a forest and there is a way or path, it is someone else's path,'" the blonde laughed quietly to herself.
She ran her fingers across the coffin and smiled as she thought of Regina.
"I didn't think much of her words when she first said them, but I find myself thinking about it more and more. Regina spent her whole life walking through the forest on carved pathways, following all the signs, staying on the course directed her- and there was no adventure to be had. The greatest adventures don't come from sticking to a well-manicured path. When you stay on another's path, you don't feel the sudden blood-curdling feeling of being lost- but you also don't feel the overwhelming sense of awe and wonder when you stumble upon a clearing with soft grass, beautiful flowers, where the pale light slips through the trees. When you stick to someone else's path, you experience everything second-hand; something else is dictating where you go and what you see. After traveling another's path for years and years, I'm going to join Regina. Together, we'll stumble blindly through the forest creating our own way, our own path- with all of its ups, downs, twists, and turns. I have to be happy with myself, I know that now. And since I've come to accept and love myself, I've been able to accept and love everyone around me- and I see the love I hold for them echoed back in their eyes. And Zelena?" she said hopping off the coffin, "It is the most beautiful thing in all the realms."
She smiled and patted the coffin before closing the large door and bounding down the steps and through the forest with a bounce in her step.
When she finally arrived at the station, she plopped down in her chair to resume people-watching for the next couple hours until her shift was over. Just as she leaned her head back and could feel her muscles relaxing, her phone rang. She jumped and answered.
"Sheriff Swan," she said half-annoyed yet also partly excited that there might be something to do.
"Sheriff it's me, Ms. Vasquez," said a raspy, ancient voice on the other side of the phone.
"Hey Ms. Vasquez, is Gatito stuck in a tree again?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Which one?"
"By the lake in the park,"
"Okay, I'll be right there. Everything's going to be just fine," she said as she hung up. As she grabbed her keys and made her way to the car she shook her head with a small smile.
Ms. Vasquez was what she called, "a regular." Her cat, Gatito, was an escape artist with adrenaline issues. Nearly every day Ms. Vasquez would call about Gatito being stuck in a tree, and every day Emma would ask where, to which Ms. Vasquez would always reply, 'in a tree by the street,' or 'in a tree by another tree.' Her locations were always extremely vague, but at least her cat had the common sense to exercise his voice, as well as have a very peculiar meow that sounded more like a hoarse elephant singing Puccini. All Emma had to do was drive around and listen for the feline's petrified variation of Nessun Dorma and she'd find him.
She drove over to the lake at the Storybrooke Park and not long after she got out of her car, she heard the harsh melodies of Gatito echoing across the pond, screeching up and down in whizzing arpeggios. She jogged over, fixing her gloves to her hands in case Gatito decided to explore his artistic side and create a panicked masterpiece all of her hands and arms.
She found the tree and circled it. After finding a safe way up and down, she shoved her right boot into a knot in the trunk and swung her arms upward. Halfway up the tree her phone rang.
Richard Wagner's, Ride of the Valkyries, blasted from her back pocket causing Gatito to shriek and climb deeper up in the tree. She sighed at the cat, but smiled recognizing the ringtone as Regina.
"Hey, Regina, what's up?" she said balancing herself so she could hold her phone.
"Hello, dear, I was wondering if you could…" she paused for a minute, "… what are you doing?" Emma knitted her brows in confusion but then realized she was panting like a lunatic and Gatito was above her loudly working his way through the third act of La Boheme. Emma laughed hard thinking about what it must have sounded like over the phone.
"I'm simply performing my civic duties, ma'am," she said with a laugh.
"Right," said Regina shortly, "anyway, I was wondering if you could pick up a couple sticks of unsalted butter from the store on your way home tonight?" Emma smiled, she'd moved in with Regina and Henry a couple months ago, and hearing Regina refer to her house as Emma's home still made the butterflies in the blonde's stomach wake up and sing.
"Unsalted?" she asked with a grunt as she moved her left foot up to catch a low branch, "No problem,"
"Be safe, love," came the brunette's soft voice, "I'll see you when you get home. I love you," Emma's smile grew brighter.
"I love you," she responded before clicking off her phone, cramming it back in her pocket, and began attempting to channel her simian ancestors as she began pushing and pulling herself up a difficult part of the tree.
As she reached for a branch thinking about unsalted butter, she saw Gatito's panicked face and heard his bizarre meowing. As she looked up at the cat, she realized she was a Sheriff whose only duty that day was getting a cat out of a tree, and she was just called to bring unsalted butter to the home she shared with her partner and their son. She laughed out loud with such gusto, that even Gatito shut his mouth for a moment as the blonde continued her laughing fit sprawled out on the middle of a tree trunk.
"This is my happy ending," she shook her head with another large laugh, "unsalted butter and an opera-singing cat named Gatito," she smiled and chuckled as she scaled the tree. The realization of the fulfillment of every hope and dream Emma Swan ever had passed through her as she climbed.
She couldn't wait to get home.
A/N: Special thanks to noly69, dianamhayle, fiend89, Baccan from FFnet and special thanks to Tae, ZeonRat, RoyaleIdiot, and thepaperrose from Ao3.