#but i think the onions will be safe for the week we're gone

[bunn1efacebaby]

we have so many groceries we need to eat up today and tomorrow so I'm gonna make aubergine miso soup and kimchi buchimgae for lunch; dinner will be corn croquettes, carrot soup, and stir fry; I'll press and fry the rest of the tofu to put in my lunch box for tomorrow, to eat with some leftover roast veggies; and then dinner tomorrow will be baigan choka and naan. also I'm gonna cut up the granny smith apples and the grapefruits we have and make a tiny batch of preserves with each

[mystical-flute]

Miracle on Second Street (3/3)

Ao3 || Buy Me a Ko-Fi?

"Emma?" Mrs. Morris called. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

Emma rolled her eyes as she looked at the countdown to Christmas she'd made in school. Three days until another terrible Christmas that she'd hate. What could Mrs. Morris want with her now?

 "Emma?" the woman said again, this time right outside the bedroom door.

The ten year old rolled her eyes and put the calendar back on the bedside table just as the door opened. "What do you want?" She couldn't help but feel a bit bitter over what had happened at the Christmas party a couple weeks ago.

 Mrs. Morris took a seat at the edge of Emma's bed with a small smile. "I have some news for you, Emma."

 She rolled her eyes. "What, is Santa going to be giving me an ornament with my name engraved on it?" she asked with dripping sarcasm.

 "No. Well, actually, it isn't up to me what Santa gets for you, anymore."

 Emma frowned. "Oh. So you're moving me to a new home now?" Had her behavior at the Christmas party really been that bad? Even the old guy playing Santa had understood her frustration. Maybe she'd go live with him instead.

 "Please just listen to me, Emma. It isn't up to me to buy you gifts anymore because… well… you've been adopted."

 Emma blinked, her brain taking a moment to process what Mrs. Morris had said. Adopted? Someone actually wanted her? This had to be a joke… right?

 "You're lying…" she said quietly. "You have to be. I'm ten. I'm too old."

 "I'm not lying to you. I would never lie to you about something like this. Their names are Mary-Margaret and David Nolan, and they're downstairs right now waiting to meet you," Mrs. Morris said quietly. "They live in Maine, so you'd have to change schools, but I promise you, they really do want to adopt you."

 She furrowed her brow, trying to find a hint of lying in Mrs. Morris' face, but couldn't find any to her surprise.

 "…Okay. I'll go downstairs," Emma said, getting off the bed and following her foster mother downstairs to the dining room where the couple was. One look at them and Emma had a gut feeling in her stomach that this was different from the last time she'd been told she was going to be adopted.

 The woman's eyes were full of tears, and she was looking at Emma with so much love (not pity, not sadness, but love), that Emma thought she might burst.

 The man's gaze was no different. His eyes were soft, and he mirrored the same look his wife had.

 "Hi Emma…" the woman said softly, beaming at her. "I'm Mary-Margaret, and this is David, and we're… we're going to be your parents."

 Emma nodded, sitting at the table. "Hi… Mrs. Morris told me that you live in Maine."

 "We do. In a small town called Storybrooke. David's the sheriff and I teach fourth grade," Mary-Margaret said.

 "Oh. Will I have any siblings?"

 A brief flash of pain crossed both of the adults' faces, and Emma nearly winced in embarrassment. Okay. That was a bad thing to ask.

 Finally, it was David who spoke. "No. You'd be our only child."

 Relief flooded her. "Really? That's okay. I promise," she said with a tiny smile. She could have them all to herself? Good. She was looking forward to that. "Do I have any other family?"

 "A big one," Mary-Margaret said with a light laugh, obviously happy to be off the topic of other children. "There's my former stepmother and her husband and their kids, David's mother, his brother, and our closest friends and their children. You'll have lots of playmates, Emma."

 Emma's smile grew a bit more. "Oh, that's good." She didn't mind playing with other kids, but she got annoyed when she had to share everything with him. Especially when they stole stuff from her. Hopefully these two, and the other parents, would be good parents and stop them.

 Mary-Margaret smiled. "Emma, we have been waiting so long to adopt a child. We're so glad that they matched us up with you. I have an idea. Why don't we take you out for lunch? You can get anything you'd like."

 "I like grilled cheese and onion rings," Emma said with a smile. "Mabel's Diner has the best onion rings in town."

 "I think we can arrange that. Shall we go then?"

 "Really? Right now?!" Emma asked, her eyes lighting up. She was starving!

 David and Mary-Margaret laughed. "Yes, of course right now. Go get your coat and shoes and you can show us the way."

 In moments, Emma was walking between David and Mary-Margaret through the snowy weather, telling them stories of her childhood while they told her stories of Storybrooke. They owned a farm as well as their regular jobs, and her new grandmother and uncle helped  them out. Mary-Margaret was Jewish, so Emma would be celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah.

  They had a dog too – Emma had never had a dog before.

 Even though part of her was still suspicious of them, part of her afraid that she would be returned again, there was something about the two of them that made Emma feel comfortable and safe in their presence.

 "When are you taking me to Storybrooke?" she asked through a mouthful of cheesy goodness and swallowing a sip of her cola.

 "Tomorrow."

 "Just in time for Christmas!" Emma said with a small gasp. She couldn't wait to celebrate Christmas with a family instead of other orphans who also only got one present. Finally, she'd be able to celebrate Christmas with a family that loved her.

 "That's right. So Emma… Mrs. Morris tells us you've never had a proper Christmas so… what do you want for Christmas?" David asked.

 Emma blinked in surprise, pausing. What did she want for Christmas? All she wanted was a family that wouldn't return her, and it looked like she was getting that… she'd never been able to flip through a Toys-R-Us catalog and mark which Barbies or games she wanted. How was she supposed to figure that out in a matter of days? The older kids had stolen the catalog anyway.

 Emma bit her lip, looking between her new parents. "I… I don't know," she admitted. "I didn't think I'd have a family for Christmas. I didn't think of anything other than a family."

 Predictably, there was worry written on their faces.

 "What do you like to do then? Drawing? Sports? Reading?" Mary-Margaret asked.

 "Um… I like reading and singing… and animals," Emma said, biting her lip. "Sorry if that's not much help."

 "Don't think that. We'll find gifts for you. We promise. Do you like school?"

 Emma shrugged as she took a bite of an onion ring. "It's okay. I don't have many friends though. But I like music class at least. And I like science too."

 Mary-Margaret smiled. "Well that's good! My friend in Storybrooke teaches music. She'll be so happy to have you in her class, I'm sure."

 She smiled again. How were things going so perfectly for her? There had to be a catch, right? There was no way that these people would be so willing and excited to have her as a daughter. She was a screw up. Damaged goods.

 Something had to be wrong.

 Still, Emma would humor them for as long as they'd have her in their home. They were willing to at least listen to her and talk to her like she wasn't just a check from the government. Plus, she'd get away from her annoying foster siblings for a while.

 -----

 Mary-Margaret had been smitten with Emma Swan since Aiden had showed her the photograph of her. Finding out the struggles the girl had gone through had only made her heart break into thousands of pieces, and she knew they had to do something to make her Christmas extra special.

 It would be a time crunch, she knew. Only days before Christmas – a holiday she didn't pay all that much attention to anyway – left little time for people to go shopping, but one look at Emma and the day they'd spent getting to know her meant Mary-Margaret felt like she had to throw her everything into making Christmas special for her.

 "David," she said quietly. "How are we going to do this?" she asked with a sigh as they relaxed in their hotel room later that night. "Sure we have some decorations and that small tree but… Emma deserves better, don't you think?"

 David nodded in agreement, a look of consideration on his face. "Yeah. I agree. But even though we're far from home, we aren't stuck doing this by ourselves. I'll just call Regina and my mother and see if they'd be willing to help make our house Christmas-ready. And tell them what Emma likes so they can get some gifts for her too. Aiden already promised that Baelfire would be willing to be her friend. Ruby and Killian said both Emily and Alice would too. We can do this, Mary-Margaret. Just have faith."

 She nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "You're right. This just happened so fast that I feel like we haven't had time to breathe."

 "We haven't, really," David said with a small smile as he dialed his phone. "But when we're able to celebrate as a family, it'll be worth it."

 "I know it will…" she said softly. "David, we have a daughter. We have a child and she's perfect and beautiful."

 "We do. And we're going to make this the best Christmas she's ever had."

 Mary-Margaret grinned. "We're going to make every holiday the best she's ever had."

 -----

 It all felt like a dream still. Even as she packed her clothes and few personal belongings up into her suitcase, she still felt like she was going to wake up and find it was all just a fantasy. Finally, she wouldn't be the one standing outside in the freezing weather looking longingly at the car as it drove away with some lucky kid. She was the lucky kid now.

 "Emma! Mr. and Mrs. Nolan are here!" Mrs. Morris called. "It's time to go, sweetheart."

 Emma took a deep breath and looked around the shared bedroom. It was strange that she wouldn't be returning to this place. She'd be going to Storybrooke, Maine, with her new parents… and an extended family she'd never had before.

 She made her way downstairs, feeling the stares of her now former foster siblings shooting right through her as she looked up at David and Mary-Margaret, giving them a timid smile before being led out to their car.

 "Okay Emma. You ready to head to Storybrooke?" David asked, pulling the driver's door closed and starting the car.

 "I'm ready."

 As David pulled out of the driveway, Emma didn't even bother looking back at the foster home she'd lived in for two years. There was no need to – she didn't feel any sadness about leaving it at all.

 The plane ride was easy, only a little bit of turbulence, and before long, Emma found herself riding through the dense forests of northern Maine, a vast difference from the cities and suburbs of Minnesota. As happy as she was that she was finally out of here, she had to admit… she was pretty hungry.

 "Um… 'scuse me," she said softly and waiting until Mary-Margaret looked in the backseat before continuing, "I'm hungry. Are we going to stop soon?"

 "Oh, of course! We'll be home soon, and everyone is meeting us there, so we'll have a big family dinner, okay? It's usually a tradition to go to Ruth's house for Christmas Eve, but everyone wanted to come over to ours to meet you instead. They all brought food, so don't worry about going hungry."

 "We'll be there in ten minutes. Think you can hold on until then?" David added with a smile.

 Emma nodded with a smile. A home cooked meal would be better than a restaurant anyway.

 Before long, they were pulling up to a white farmhouse, a haven against the snowy backdrop that surrounded it. The house was decorated with all of the Christmas trimmings Emma had once imagined, but never thought she'd ever get to experience.

 "Emma," Mary-Margaret said as she put a hand on her shoulder, "this is your new home."

 She smiled up at her new mother and nodded. "Thanks… mom."

 There were tears in Mary-Margaret's eyes as she and David led Emma up the steps, letting Emma be the one to open the front door.

 The home itself was something out of a Christmas movie. A large tree was in the corner of the room, stacks of presents lined up underneath it. Snowflakes and stars hung from the ceiling, the fireplace had three large and one smaller stocking hung in front of the cozy fire that was burning. A winter village was on one of the tables, and Emma noted some of the homes had a menorah painted on it, rather than a tree.

 But what really caught Emma's attention was the large banner that hung right in the middle of the room, hand painted and decorated with children's handprints that said 'Welcome Home, Emma!', and the crowd of people that were gathered underneath it, all smiles.

 "Alright Emma?" David asked with a smile. "This is your family."

 "Oh!" a grey-haired woman in the front of the crowd cried as she rushed forward to where Emma and David stood. "Look at you. You're so beautiful."

 "Mother… give her a bit of room," David said, though Emma could hear the amusement in his tone. "I'm sure this is a lot to take in at once."

 "Oh David, she's my first grandchild. You can't blame me for being excited."

 Emma smiled up at the woman. "Hi…"

 "Are you hungry, sweetheart? You've had a long day, I'm sure."

 Emma nodded, relieved she'd asked that.

 "Alright. Why we get you a plate of food and then you can meet everyone. Does that sound okay?"

 She nodded again, and Ruth guided her to the kitchen where a buffet awaited her. Emma had never been allowed to have so many choices before, and she wound up with a plate and two bowls filled to the brim of food.

 She had to sit with the other kids that were there, but for once, they didn't fight her for food. Instead they just… talked and introduced themselves. Emma slowly felt her guard slip away, and she began to enjoy herself with them.

 They allowed Emma to open a few presents ("Think of them as welcome home gifts, not Christmas gifts!" her grandmother had said), and before long, she was under the warm covers of her bed with her new purple quilt, stuffed horse in her arms and Wilby asleep at the end of her bed, drifting off to sleep.

 It was then that Emma heard something strange. She ignored it at first, until the noise got louder and was followed by a very distinctive human laugh.

 Her eyes popped open, and she pulled herself from the bed and went to the window, eyes widening in shock when she saw a familiar face flying outside her window, in a sled, pulled by nine flying reindeer.

 She pulled the window open, leaning out, hearing the sleigh bells clear as day.

 "I promised you, didn't I? Merry Christmas Emma!" she heard in the distance.

 He was too far away to yell to him without waking up the entire house, so Emma could only hope he'd hear her whisper.

 "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you… I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

 She had a feeling she was going to have to write a really long apology letter next year.