Emma's Daughter OUAT

Fun Day

It was a little before 10:00 when Emma and Macey reached the car. Macey didn't have anything but her stuffed rabbit, book, and the clothes on her back.

"Your car is yellow!" Macey gasped.

Emma couldn't help but laugh at the look on her daughter's face. "Yeah, I know it's a bit unusual, but..."

"I LOVE it!" Macey exclaimed. "Yellow's my favorite color."

"Really?"

"Yep!" Macey replied, popping the p. "When I was little I used to dream about my future house. I always planned to paint it yellow. Everything from the walls to the furniture was going to be yellow." Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. "Of course, I know that's a bit ridiculous now."

Emma opened the passenger door for Macey, before going around to the drivers side. She watched as Macey's eyes landed on the picture on the dashboard. "Is that him?" She asked. "Is that Henry?"

Emma took the picture down and handed it to Macey. She hadn't realized that in her rush to get to know her daughter, she had yet to show her a picture of her brother. "It sure is." She said. "You know...the two of you have the same nose."

Emma watched as Macey's smile faded and a look of worry crossed over her face. "Do you think he'll like me?" She whispered.

Emma's heart broke at the uncertainty in her daughter's voice. She remembered feeling the same way as a child, always wondering if the next family was going to like her. "Of course he will." She assured her. "In fact, he can't wait to meet you."

Macey seemed a bit uncomfortable and quickly changed the subject. "So...are we going back to Storybrooke now?"

"Actually..." Emma began. "I thought we'd go get something to eat and then maybe do some shopping."

Macey shrugged. "Uh...yeah, sure."

"Great." Emma said as she started the car. "Where would you like to go?"

It was obvious that her question caught Macey by surprise and it occurred to Emma that she probably wasn't used to being asked what she wanted. She thought back to her own childhood and how people always made all the decisions for her. That had been something that she hated and it made things so much harder once she did get out of the system. She had been so caught up with finally making her own choices that she often times made the wrong ones.

"It doesn't matter." Macey shrugged. "I'm not picky."

I'm not picky. Emma couldn't count the number of times those words came out of her own mouth. "Well..." she began. "Here's the thing. There's this really good diner, back in Storybrooke, and I can't wait to take you there. I swear Granny makes the best grilled cheese and onion rings." She glanced over at her daughter, hoping she might reveal what she liked to eat so that Emma could hopefully make the decision a bit easier for her. She saw a small smile form on her face at the mention of grilled cheese. "Of course, she makes a lot of other stuff, too." Emma continued. "Burgers, onion rings, fries, even breakfast food. But the best thing has to be the hot chocolate. Both Henry and I drink ours with cinnamon, a bit strange but a trait we share with my mo...Mary Margaret."

"Sounds great." Macey said, her nose wrinkling a bit at the mention of the cinnamon. "Thing is, one tiny lick of cinnamon sends me strait to the hospital."

"Oh." Emma said. Good to know. "No cinnamon then."

"Yeah." Macey smirked. "That's probably best."

"Anyways, I'm sure you'll love Granny's, everyone does. Unfortunately it's hours away and we still have shopping to do. It's also been a while since I've been in this area, and just like you I'm not picky, so whatever you want is fine with me. Any place a favorite of yours?"

Macey seemed to think it over for a while, a look of slight panic on her face. "I...I don't really go out to eat much." She began. "But the last time I did was right before Jo took me to my last group home. We went to this place that makes really good waffles."

Emma grinned. "Well, I happen to love waffles, and I think I know just the place you're talking about."

They made it to the Waffle House twenty minutes later and the place was practically empty. The moment they walked through the doors all eyes were on them. Emma could feel the judgement radiating off of an older couple who looked at her and then at Macey. The woman shook her head and whispered something to her husband.

Emma knew how it must look, walking in here in the clothes she was wearing and Macey having on old hand me downs which had obviously seen better days. Still, the look on the older woman's face and the whispers were starting to get to her. Normally Emma would have made some smart ass comment, but she didn't want to get into it in front of Macey. She was just about to lead the girl to the nearest booth when she surprised Emma by shouting out "take a picture, it'll last longer!"

The older lady pressed her lips tightly together and huffed in annoyance, muttering something about kids these days. Emma couldn't keep the smirk off her face as it sounded like something she would have said.

They had barely sat down when the waitress, a young woman in all black with a lot of piercings, stopped by to take their drink order.

"I'll have a coffee." Emma said.

The waitress looked over at Macey and Emma could once again see the fear in her face as she was faced with yet another decision. Emma was about to tell her she could order anything she wanted when she mumbled "I'll just have a water, please."

"You know...you can order anything you want, Macey." Emma told her the moment the waitress walked away. "Anything."

Emma ended up ordering waffles, scrambled eggs and bacon. Macey was going to just order waffles, but when Emma insisted she pick something to go with it she chose a bowl of fresh fruit.

They stayed at the diner for a while, even after their food was gone, just talking and getting to know each other. Eventually Macey excused herself to go to the bathroom and that's when Emma pulled her phone out and sent a quick text to Mary Margaret.

Everything is going well. Macey was discharged a couple hours ago. We just stopped to get something to eat and plan on doing some shopping before we head back.

It didn't take long for Mary Margaret to respond and Emma was sure she had been sitting with her phone in her hand just waiting for a call.

That's great. Tell Macey we all say hi and that we can't wait to meet her.

Emma had just put her phone back in her pocket when Macey came out of the bathroom. "Alright, we can check brunch off the list." Emma said. "Now how about we go check out the mall?"
..................................................................................
Unlike the Waffle House, the mall was jam packed. It seemed as if everyone and their mother was here. Emma supposed it didn't really help that it was the weekend.

"First I thought we would get you some new clothes." Emma said.

"It's okay, you really don't have to."

"Nonsense." Emma waved off her concern. "You can't get by with only the clothes you have on now. Besides, I want to make up for lost time."

They spent the next couple hours walking around the mall and checking out all the stores. Emma found that Macey wouldn't ask for anything, but when she saw her look at something with interest, Emma would insist she add it to the cart. By the end of their shopping trip they had left with three bags of clothes for Macey and a new purse for Emma.

Next they went to get school supplies and then Emma insisted that they do something fun, just the two of them before grabbing dinner and heading back to Storybrooke. In the end they decided on checking out the arcade, where they played games and had pizza. By the time they left the mall it was nearing 5:00. Emma figured they wouldn't get home until about 10:00 and that was if they didn't make any stops.

"I had fun today." Macey said as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car. "You didn't have to get me all the things you did."

"Maybe not." Emma agreed. "But I wanted too." She buckled her own seatbelt before starting the car. "What do you say? Are you ready to go home?"

"Home." Macey whispered, the word sounding unfamiliar on her lips. "Yeah...that sounds good."