juliet •peter pan•

FORTY

The next day, Juliet went with Henry and Emma to pick up taco shells at the store. When they got back to Snow and Charming's apartment, Juliet opened the door to find both of them in bed. Her eyes widened. Behind her came Henry. "What are you two still doing in bed? It's the middle of the afternoon?"

Snow smiled. "The trip back was tiring, and I needed to rest." Juliet chuckled. Snow looked at her and raised an eyebrow. Charming nodded. "And I needed to help her rest." Juliet tried to contain her laughter. "Come on Henry, let's go get these ready." She walked into the kitchen, chuckling.

At Granny's that night, Juliet sat in the corner, drinking an iced tea, watching the whole thing. Charming clinked his glass. "I just wanted to thank you all for joining us tonight. Um, Mary Margaret and I have a saying... that we will always find each other. And while I believe that with all my heart, I'd like you all to raise your glasses and join me when I say, here's to not looking for a while." Juliet raised her glass.

All of a sudden, Regina opened the door with a container. Juliet was the only one who was still smiling. Regina awkwardly smiled. "Sorry I'm late." Leroy grabbed a knife. "What is she doing here?" Emma's eyes widened. "I invited her." Regina set her plate down and walked over to Juliet.

Juliet looked at the platter. "Ooh, Aunt Regina, that looks good." Regina chuckled. "You know you don't have to call me 'Aunt Regina', since I'm not your Aunt." Juliet took a sip of her iced tea, knowing full well that Regina was her aunt.

Henry walked over, and Regina fixed him a plate. He smiled. 'I'm glad you came." Juliet nodded. "Same here." Regina looked at Leroy. "Oh, I made lasagna." Leroy narrowed his eyes. "What's the secret ingredient? Poison?" Regina's expression faltered. "Red pepper flakes." Juliet rolled her eyes at Leroy's comment. "Gives it a little kick." She handed the lasagna to Leroy. Juliet took a bite of the lasagna. "Don't listen to him. This is really good." Regina smiled. At least two people in Storybrooke still believed in her.

Later that night, Juliet came home to see Regina sitting at the dining room table, with her head in her hands. Juliet sighed, and went over to the table. "You okay?" Regina looked up at her. "Yeah, I'm fine." Juliet nodded. "Well, if you need anything, I'll be upstairs." She turned around to walk upstairs, but Regina spoke before she could walk upstairs.

"Why are you still here? I thought you wouldn't want to sleep here, that you'd rather sleep somewhere else." Juliet shook her head. "Curse or no curse, this is still my home, and after meeting your mother, I realized there's still hope for you." Regina smiled, and Juliet went upstairs.