Chapter 27: All Right
Emma Swan sighed heavily as she heard the doctor tell her that everything was okay with the baby.
Thank God, for small miracles.
The past day and a half had been eye opening to say the least. She had been kidnapped. Locked in an asylum. And found out that her lover's did wife was alive. And oh, yeah he could do magic. That magic was real.
She shook her head as she recalled what had happened only a few hours. Lacey—her lover's not so dead wife—had just been shot by a guard and Ford, he raised his hand and the guard was turned into a snail.
Or maybe it was a slug; it didn't exactly have a shell.
Who cared what it was the fact was that her lover, the lawyer, the only man she had been able to trust since getting out of that forsaken prison all those years ago had just turned a guy into a slug.
She didn't want to believe it and didn't exactly know what to say. So much that she found herself collapsing.
It had, after all, been a long day. She hadn't even confronted Ford about the fact that he could randomly turn people into slimy bugs yet. He probably hadn't even visited her. He was probably busy with Lacey.
She closed her eyes for a second, as she tried to get over the fact that Ford's dead wife was not so dead.
He was married.
Same as her. Only, unlike her, he had memories of his spouse and by all accounts it appeared he did love Lacey. She saw the way he looked at her, and it made her jealous.
She shook her head, berating herself at feeling jealous. She shouldn't have felt jealous. What Lacey Gold had endured was something that no one should have to deal with. God know, Emma had had enough problems being there for a day. But the only thing she had really suffered was one really bad hair cut.
She still was going to kill Regina though. And Mary Margret. She didn't know why she thought she could talk to the woman.
Mary Margret had already ditched her once; why did she think she'd want to make amends?
She had been so foolish. Just like she'd been foolish to think things between her and Ford could work out not considering the possibility that his dead wife was alive and he could turn people into slugs.
"I can do magic."
"What? Harry, that's crazy talk."
"No," He said. "It's not."
He then waived his hand and flowers began to fall from the sky.
Emma shook her head, as she tried make sense of the brief memory that she just had. She remembered feeling the same way about Harry as she felt about Ford. It felt weird. Not mention the whole tulips falling from the sky bit. What was that about?
"Emma?"
She turned around to see Graham at the doorway. She guessed he was here to ask questions about her time at the basement. Ford had mentioned something about calling him.
"I'm guessing you're here to ask me questions about my time in the basement."
He nodded, "You feel up for it?"
She shrugged. Truth be told, she felt shitty. But it wasn't like she had anything better to do. And if talking about what happened could get Regina locked up, she'd be perfectly happy to talk to the slightly dopey sheriff.
Only Graham didn't seem that dopey today.
"I'm fine. There wasn't any permanent harm to me or the baby. Have you caught Regina yet?"
Graham shook his head. "No. It's only a matter of time though. I do have Ms. Blanchard in for questioning. She's claiming she had no idea that Regina was going to drug you and lock you up."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Sure."
"You'd be surprised at how naïve Mary Margret is." Graham said.
"Really, you believe her?" Emma asked. "She got me to go into that diner. To drink that tainted hot chocolate."
"I suspect she was used by Regina, but I am holding her as an accomplicefor now if it makes you feel better."
Emma frowned, "What would make me feel better is a cheeseburger and not one of those gross ones from Granny's."
Graham smiled, "They're not that bad."
"After that hot chocolate, I'm never eating there again."
"I wouldn't blame you." Graham said. "I do have some addition questions about the place she had you locked up in though."
"You mean the asylum." Emma said.
"Yes. We've already done a sweep on the place and found ten other people that were presumed dead besides Lacey Gold."
"Are you fucking me?" Emma asked.
Graham frowned, "No. No, I'm afraid not. The thing is, like you and Lacey; none of those people were properly committed. Hell, I looked into the records and there is no official record of Storybrooke having an asylum or any of these people being properly committed."
"Does that really surprise you?" Emma asked, "This is Regina we're talking about."
Graham bit his lip before he finally said, "No. No. It really doesn't, but I'm trying to figure this mess out. How she was able to get by with it."
"All I know, is I want her locked up." Emma said, "I don't feel safe with her out there, especially since she has some sick fixation on my son. It's not like she even loves him, he's merely a possession for her that she only wanted after he was taken away."
"Maybe, I'll let you rest."
"A fine idea," Emma heard Ford say.
She turned around. Sure enough, there was Ford standing at the doorway. He seemed worn out. And who could exactly blame him, he had found out that his dead wife was alive and his baby momma had been kidnapped. Not exactly an ideal day. Oh and yeah, he had just revealed to Emma that he could perform magic or something and didn't even have the audacity to explain
Graham sighed when he saw Ford, "How's your wife doing, Gold."
"Resting comfortably," Ford said glaring at him. "Have you found Regina yet, Sherriff?"
"No," Graham said in a disgruntled tone.
"Than I suggest you search for her," Ford said.
Graham took this as his cue to leave. Emma merely raised an eyebrow.
"You look better," Ford finally said.
"I look like shit." Emma said. It was true; she had seen her reflection in the mirror. Though her ordeal had only been a day and a half, she felt like it had last a lot longer. The nurses and doctors had wanted to give her a sedative to help relax her, but of course they couldn't since she was pregnant.
As she thought about the baby, she couldn't help but put her hand against her still flat belly. Thank God, the child was okay. She had worried so much about it that day. She was only in her first trimester, after all. Very prone to a miscarriage. She figured it was her desire to protect her baby that got her out that place.
That and Emma had several years of being trying to escape foster homes and when she was in prison escaping the raft of her deranged cellmate.
She shuddered at the thought of that woman. Nurse Higgins reminded her a lot of her cellmate. The one who had given her that tattoo and had done other things that she had been so sure for months had given her some sort of disease. The tattoo was gone now. But what Lena Green had done to her, had lingered with her.
She hadn't thought of her cellmate in awhile. The one who had tormented her in more ways that she didn't cared to admit. While Ford had seen the tattoo, he had never heard all of the damage that Lena had done to her. He didn't know about that night she was branded.
Emma sighed heavily. She never even wanted to admit what happened.
She had already been so broken up then. For so many different reasons, but being in that asylum Regina's little fun house made all those memories fall back.
"You'll always be mine, my pretty."
That was what Lena had told her the last time she had saw the woman. The possessiveness, the control that she had over Emma had always irked her. While she had so many recurrent nightmares of Ralph Miller over the years she had just as many bad dreams of Lena Green.
She had a feeling that Bertha Higgins was the same as her old cellmate. Maybe she wouldn't do the same sort of stuff that Lena did, but at her core she was a control freak. The way Lacey had talked about her, it made Emma feel for the girl and wondered what she went through.
"How's Lacey?" She asked Ford.
He frowned, "Resting. The surgery went fine. The bullet was in the shoulder, she was lucky."
Emma nodded.
"You want to talk about what you saw?" He asked.
"I don't even know how to talk about it. You turned a man into a snail."
"Actually, it was a slug. He didn't have a shell."
Emma frowned, "You shouldn't be able to turn someone into a gastropod, regardless. It goes against physics. Magic is not real."
"But it is," He said. "You saw it with your own eyes."
"I don't know what I saw," She said with a sigh. "I just know I want everything to be normal again."
"Magic is normal." He said. "It's always been a part of the world. You just don't know about it."
"That's the thing," Emma said. "I think I did."
He gave her a weird look, as she explained the flash of memory she had with Harry. "Can Harry do magic?" She asked.
He sighed, "Would it matter if he did?"
She sighed heavily, "He can."
"Yes," Ford said. "He can. And Jaime can too."
"Jaime can do magic?"
"Yes," He said.
"And you didn't care to tell me?"
"Well, it's not like you'd believe me, love."
He was right, she wouldn't have believed him, she still didn't quite believe him and she told him so.
He sighed, "Really, Emma, you saw me turn a man into a snail."
"I know," She said, "But…but that could've been a fluke."
He rolled his eyes, "Fine if you need more proof.."
He waived his hand a moment later she felt something touching her shoulders. Hair. Her newly shorn head was gone. Instead, she had hair that was longer than how she worn it in years. It reminded her of how she wore it before she was in prison. Ever since her days in jail, she couldn't handle wearing it long. She always made sure it was shoulder length or shorter. She just had to look well groomed. She gave him an odd look, "You just gave me hair. Ridiculously long hair."
"You wanted proof of magic," He said. "And I was assuming you didn't like Regina's compulsory asylum hair doo."
"I'll have to explain this to everyone." She said holding up the hair, but she was happy to have it.
"I can zap it away if you like." He said.
She shook her head, "No. No. I'll just tell people it's a wig if they ask. But it's real."
He nodded, "As I told you magic."
"And you didn't care to tell me before?"
"There are laws, Emma." He said, "You should talk to your husband about it if you want a more thorough explanation. It's sort of Harry's thing."
Husband.
She frowned. That word reminded her that Ford was married. "You're married."
He looked at her confused.
"Lacey's alive." She sated, "We can't do this."
"Don't be ridiculous."
"No," She said. "You love her. She loves you. Ford, her being alive is a miracle."
"I will agree to the miracle bit." He said. "But this doesn't change what's between you and me."
"It does," Emma said hating what she was about to say. But she had to say it. She had met with Lacey. She knew how much Ford loved her and—and he deserved to be happy.
"No," He said. "It doesn't."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Ford. We've only been in an actual relationship for a few weeks. And calling it an actual relationship might be pushing it. If you didn't accidently knock me up, I doubt we'd even be anything."
He gave her a weird look. "That's—"
"It's the truth," She said.
And she knew she was right. He had been so reluctant to be with her. Yes, when they did make love, when they were together things felt good and God knows she wanted him; but, he had always seemed a little distant and she always thought it was because of Lacey. That he hadn't quite moved on.
"Emma," He said, "We're having a baby together."
"I know," She said, "But that doesn't change your feelings."
"You don't even know my feelings." He said, "I love you."
She shook her head. She could feel that she was about to cry, but she controlled her tears. Having a baby in prison and having said baby taken away, had taught her a lot about controlling her feelings. "You don't." She said, "You love our child. You love Lacey. You have grieved for her for over twenty years, and she's here. She's here and waiting for you. She needs you."
He sighed heavily, "And what if I say, I need you."
Emma wanted to cry. Why couldn't he just take her cue? She was letting him go. It was what you were supposed to do when you loved something; she always saw it on those posters when she was growing up. And she saw the way Ford looked when he saw Lacey, like she was some walking miracle.
She was a walking miracle. How someone could've lived like that for twenty some odd years was beyond her. And as much as Ford deserved to be happy, Lacey deserved to be happy. "I can't." Emma found herself saying.
"What?"
"This isn't just about Lacey. It's this whole magic thing, I just can't."
"Magic thing?" He said, "You don't want to be with me because I can do magic?"
In truth, the magic thing didn't really bother her that much. Sure, she had questions. Sure she still couldn't quite believe it, princess hair be damned. But, but, it wasn't a reason to dump Ford. Clearly, she had dealt with magic in the past if that flash of memory was anything to go by and it didn't bother her then. And she had known Ford for so many years, and just the fact that he could snap his fingers and turn someone into a snail—excuse her, slug—or give someone princess like locks didn't bother her. She loved the man, which was why she needed to let him go.
"Yes," She said. "I just—I just can't."
He gave her an odd look, "Love—"
"Don't," She said. "Lacey will be waking up soon and I'm sure, I'm sure she'll want to see her husband."
He shook his head, "This isn't over."
"Ford," She said. "Just go."
He reluctantly left.
She sat there for a while most of the time flipping through the channels, trying to forget what was going on when she felt a knock on the door.
She turned to see Harry there.
He looked slightly different than she remembered. Which was ridiculous, because she had seen the man yesterday. But he looked a lot more vulnerable. Though, it might've been that he was wearing jeans.
She sighed when she saw him and motioned him to come in.
"Sorry, I didn't come in sooner." He said, "Do-Right just called me. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," She said and then shook her head. "No, no I'm not fine."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really," She said before she added, "I'm sorry."
"What?"
She was even surprised she was apologizing. She wasn't exactly sure what she was apologizing for. The last time she saw him, she had been so mad. Mad at him for assuming to know what she wanted. He had been willing to give her a divorce without even talking to her, but now—now she sort of understood.
"You were trying to make it easy on me," She said, "You knew I wanted to be with Ford."
He sighed, "Don't. I was wrong. I should've asked if it was what you wanted rather than pushing the papers on you. It doesn't matter now, anyway. Are you okay, I heard what happened to you?"
"I'm fine." She said, "Just here overnight for observation because—"
She stopped herself. He didn't know about the baby. She didn't even know how to explain it to him now, she didn't want to.
"Because of what happened." Harry said, "I couldn't believe what Whale said. You were drugged and locked in an asylum?"
"Regina," Emma said. "You know the final custody agreement was signed, I think it was her last stand. Jaime—"
"He's with Hermione." Harry said, "She'll be able to protect him."
The way he said that Emma believed him. She had a hunch. "She has magic too, doesn't she?"
"What?"
Emma sighed, "Ford used magic down there, to protect me. He mentioned that you knew a lot about magic. And well, I sort of had a flash of something. Of you making tulips or something come out of the sky."
"Oh, that." He said, "Yes. I—wait, you remember."
"It was only a flash," Emma said. "Don't get your hopes up."
"I wasn't." He said, "It's just I'm surprised you remember anything."
The way he said that, there seemed to be more to the story. Emma didn't press though. She wasn't in prodding mode.
"I can't believe magic is real." She said, "Ford said you know a lot about it."
"I do." He said, "I—my work is in the magical world. It's why I haven't told you about it. I mean, I doubt you would've believe me.."
"You could've made it rain tulips again."
"I have a feeling in today's day and age, you would've freaked out or found it annoying. You've changed."
She had. She knew she had changed a lot in ten years. After she had Jaime and was released from jail, she had become a lot more guarded. It was odd believing that she was the same carefree girl in that vision. The thought of kissing someone in a magical flower rain was sort of ridiculous.
"I'm more of a realist," She said. "But a lot has happened in ten years. I'm sure the world has changed for you as well."
He nodded, "That is true. I sort of became a bit of a workaholic."
Emma laughed, "That makes two of us."
"Emma," He said, "I don't want to fight anymore. No matter what happens to us."
She looked at him, "Me either. Do you think we can have a do over?"
"Do over?"
"You know act like these past few awkward months didn't happen and try to be friends. I have a feeling I'm going to need a friend right now."
"Any particular reason?"
"Ford's wife's alive." She said.
He gave her a weird look.
"Yeah, Lacey Gold." She said, "She's alive."
"That doesn't mean he's going to leave you though." Harry said, "I'm assuming that you are together."
She gave him a weird look. "Did he—"
"No, Jaime talks." He said, "And I could tell by the way you looked at him. It was the way you, well, you used to look at me."
She inwardly cringed. "I'm—"
"Don't," He said. "I'm perfectly fine that you wanted to move on. I get it. That's why I gave you the papers; I know it was stupid not talking about it with you. But I thought it might be easier for you not having to talk about it."
She sighed heavily, "I—I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. Again, I apologize. Regardless, it doesn't matter now."
"He might not stay with her."
Emma laughed.
"What? Is it that hard to believe he would stay with you."
"I am a mess."
"A wonderful mess that I married ten years ago."
"Harry, that girl is gone." Emma said, "Like I told you, a lot happened to me in a decade that changed me. There were things that happened to me, that made me wearily towards relationships. I didn't even want to be touched for years."
He cringed.
She sighed, "I know that what I thought happened with Ralph didn't happen. But it's more than that. A lot of other things happened to me during that time."
And some things that she didn't want to admit happened.
She inwardly frowned as she thought back to that night with Lena Green.
"Regardless of what happened, you're still you." Harry finally said, "Yes, bad things might've happened. You might've gotten older, changed your appearance, your taste in flowers and romantic gestures might've changed but your still the same strong woman that I fell in love with."
Emma laughed.
"Hey, I'm not joking. I think it's entirely possible that Ford will want to stay with you."
"I told him to go." Emma said, "I actually threw him towards her. Told him I couldn't deal with the magic thing."
"Emma!"
"I—I need him to be happy." Emma said, "And I think Lacey will make him happy. She deserves her happy ending too. I know how it feels to be unjustly locked up like that. And then when you finally get out, finding you have nothing. He needs to at least try with her."
"And don't you think you should give him a choice?"
Emma looked at him, "It's a little bit more complicated than that."
"I don't understand how."
"I'm pregnant, Harry." She said.