CHAPTER SIX
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i. this is home !

storybrooke maine .

— WINNIE HADN'T BEEN VERY FOCUSED ON WHAT WAS GOING ON WITHIN IN THE TOWN, instead too focused on serving customers at her bakery, offering a moment of time to her friends and family when they needed it- especially making sure to try and return Jefferson's scarf, only for him to show up to tea wearing a different one, telling her to simply keep the one she had.

"Don't worry about me, I've got more; and we can't have you freezing, now can we?" He had laughed, waving it off.

A kind gesture, that made her feel incredibly lucky to have such a gentle and wonderful friend.

Winnie wasn't completely in the dark, Emma visited her during every spare minute and filled her in on what was happening, a comatose man waking up and apparently being Prince Charming and Emma becoming the deputy were currently the biggest ones.

Christopher also told her what was going on, he'd hop up to the table during breakfast and say something peculiar like: 'today we're going to help Snow White find her true love'.

Winnie would quite simply fold a towel, tucking it on the hanger and humming slightly before investing in the conversation.

"And just where do you think her true love is?" She'd asked.

"He's in the hospital- in a coma, Emma says- but we know it's him- well... Henry thinks it's him."

"Ahh I see, and what about you?"

Christopher fell rather silent at that moment, mumbling out his answer:

"I don't know what to think."

Christopher believed in his best friend whole heartedly, but the day Henry told him that he was a fairytale character- it sat weirdly in his chest, and he wasn't quite sure how to feel.

Still, he trailed after Henry and Emma as they bustled about the town and seemed to find more and more evidence of Storybrooke being more than what they thought.

Winnie, of course, wasn't quite sure what 'Operation Cobra' meant either, but according to Henry and Christopher, she was part of it, which delighted her a small bit.

Emma had become quite a constant in Winnie's life. It was a welcome presence, to both women.

Emma kept her well informed, letting her know everything that's been going on. Winnie offered Emma someone to confide in, in laymen's terms, a friend. Someone that cared for her and someone she could care for, a mutual trust.

Emma swiftly decided that becoming friends with Winnie was one of the best decisions of her life.

She never had to worry about wearing the same clothes over and over again, despite Winnie's clothes being a few sizes too big for her.

She never worried about not having eaten, because Winnie would sit her down and make her an incredible meal anytime she could.

Winnie was such a wonderful impact on her and Emma could hardly remember a time she didn't have Winnie in her life.

It was a small bit difficult for both of them though, Winnie supported Emma in nearly every decision, but when it came down to it, Regina was still one of her closest friends.

She understood Emma, who spoke so horribly about Madam Mayor. Winnie knew the woman had flaws. She was strict, and sometimes undoubtedly selfish.

But there wasn't a single person that wasn't flawed. Winnie knew that, and the sooner everyone else realized and made peace with their flaws, the happier they would be.

She didn't scold Emma, the same way she didn't scold Regina when she spoke bad about the blonde. She simply hummed along, not agreeing or disagreeing to anything.

Both rivalled woman could feel Winnie's intentions.

Don't fuel the fire, simply let it burn. They themselves would suffer their own consequences.

And it seemed, both women did. They began to realize more and more why Winnie wouldn't interfere- when normally she would stand up for her friends with unwavering courage.

She just wanted them to realize their mistakes.

Sadly, that had yet to fully happen.

"Mama!" Christopher shouted down the hall, bringing Winnie out of her thoughts as she scrubbed away at the sink, trying to clean the house a little.

"Yes, Christopher, what is it?" She asked in her kind English voice, sighing at the shiny sink and tossing her rag to the counter.

"Grandfather's here!"

"Well, go on and open the door!" Winnie laughed, wiping her hands dry on her dungarees, leaving small trails of water. She never seemed to mind.

As she approached the living room, she saw her own father dressed in his signature old tail coat, his hair a peppery grey colour and his face had a somehow permanent sad look.

"Hello Papa." She greeted, smiling kindly, hugging his thin figure.

"Oh, hello Winnifred." Her father spoke. She never minded the disappointment in his voice, she knew he was happy to see her, his sad demeanour had just simply wrapped around his voice, bringing it down to a gravelly crunch.

"Uncle Petey!" Christopher cried, greeting the other man at the door, who jumped in response to the loud voice.

"O-oh hello there, Christopher." He mumbled, tightening his grip on a bundle of blankets in his arms, running his pale, freckled hands along the material.

Christopher's eyes lit up in delight, "'Ave you brought Piglet!" His excitement seemed to bring out his accent a little heavier.

The small, frail man dipped his head a bit, entering the house some more and, without saying a word, ducked down only slightly to reach Christopher's height, allowing the boy to see the little pink and brown pig swaddled up in blankets.

Winnie smiled at her brother, knowing despite his severe anxiety, he'd always try his very best when they had these family dinners.

The moment she appreciated him the most, though, was only last year when he approached her in the kitchen and asked if he could sit away from the family for small while, being too socially tired to continue.

Winnie appreciated that he knew his boundaries, and appreciated that he felt comfortable enough to ask her for her acceptance and help.

She always felt as if Petey wanted to be as far from her as possible. She understood, of course, she knew his anxiety could become too much for him to bare sometimes, and always tried to keep him comfortable, giving the man space when space was due.

That night he spent a near hour laying on the floor of Winnie's room, watching shadows on the ceiling.

Tonight though, he seemed to not mind the quivering smile that bloomed on his face like a late blossoming flower as Christopher imitated the small oinks Piglet made.

Slowly and surely the whole family arrived at the house, all accept Winnie's uncle, who apparently had better things to do.

Toddy bounced with excitement, not being able to sit still in his seat- just as he usually did.

As soon as Kenya and Rhett arrived, Christopher pulled out playing cards and sat on the floor in the living room playing slapjack with the younger boy.

Robbie, of course, disappeared into the kitchen at some point- no doubt to help with dinner or make a salad with the vegetables he brought along.

It was a happy time, the lights gave the room a warm and enchanting glow, illuminating plant leaves and reflecting in the eyes of the little family.

Winnie let Robbie deal with dinner the way he pleased, knowing that cooking was an incredible strong suit of his, just as gardening was- and also knew that the man's OCD could quickly become a problem if she forgot to do something important- which she ever so often did.

Instead she sat on the love seat with Petey, who stayed quiet and occasionally cooed at Piglet, who was still contently snuggled in blankets.

Their father sat quietly in a plush brown armchair, with his tailcoat hanging off the back- Kenya sat next to Toddy on the couch, both were chattering amongst themselves.

It seemed so very normal and wonderful, Winnie couldn't help but smile crookedly, pushing her glasses farther up her nose.

Then the doorbell rang.

storybrooke maine .

— WINNIE WAS QUICK TO STAND UP AND RUB HER HANDS AGAINST HER DUNGAREES. She hadn't been expecting anyone else, she knew her uncle would be busy tonight logging and ordering books for the library, which Madam Mayor had let him maintain for personal purposes only. It was very important to him- despite being heavily dyslexic he found books to be very important and fascinating things.

With him being at the library all night, Winnie had no idea who could possibly be at the door.

"I'll get it!" She called to Toddy, who had jumped up at the sound of the doorbell.

"Alrighty, Winnifred." He chuckled, his lisp barely noticeable. He immediately resumed his conversation with Kenya, still allowing his legs to bounce up and down.

Winnie opened the door, the light from the house flooding over the woman that stood there, who was previously in the dark.

"Em?" Winnie asked, seeing the blonde woman's bloodshot, glassy eyes and forced smile.

"Hey, Winn." Emma responded shakily.

Winnie could tell the woman was on the verge of tears, and quickly stepped out into the cold, shutting the door behind her.

Emma couldn't possibly explain the amount of comfort she found when Winnie hugged her tight. It was much like being encased entirely in the warmth of a mother, who whispered away her worries and put a hand to the back of her head, pulling her closer into the hug, keeping her anchored.

Emma began to cry again, sobbing heavily against Winnie's shoulder.

"Honey, what happened?" Winnie asked quietly, running a hand up and down Emma's back. Anything Winnie could to remind her that she wasn't alone.

"Graham's dead." Emma breathed out, letting a weight fall from her shoulders.

Winnie only knew the sheriff as well as he knew her, but the news of his loss sent a heavy winded blow to her heart.

He was a good man. A good man. The world would mourn him.

"I'm sorry, darling." Winnie sighed, tightening her hold on Emma. Being the deputy, Emma definitely knew the man better than some. "I'm here with whatever you need."

Emma breathed shakily still, calming down significantly, "Just this." She said. "Just you. That's all I need."

Emma pulled away from the hug, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of a light red sweater Winnie had let her borrow.

Emma looked through the window, through the transparent curtains and into the living room.

"Oh- god- I interrupted something, I'm sorry." She laughed dryly. "I just- I just didn't want to be alone."

"Nonsense." Winnie smiled, "You're always welcome. We were just about to have dinner, if you'd like to join?"

Emma saw the way Winnie's eyes gleamed in the little bit of light from the window, her hair a bit messy from being up all day but she looked kind and gentle.

Emma nodded slightly, "That could be nice."

So, with Winnie grabbing her by the hand, the women stepped into he house again to see Toddy had begun to play a song over the little stereo in the living room, hopping along to the beat in an odd form of dance, the children laughing and following his moves.

Winnie quietly gripped Emma's hand tighter as she introduced the blonde to the rest of the family, who became familiar with her presence almost instantly.

Robbie finally called for dinner and they huddled around the table, that had actually doubled in size because of a leaf extension they'd temporarily installed.

When Emma sat down, between Toddy and Winnie, across from young Christopher who whispered excitedly with Rhett, it felt odd to her. A feeling she had only barely ever felt.

She watched Toddy throw small pieces of carrot at Robbie, using his fork as a slingshot. Kenya scolded him, and praised the dinner. Their father sat tiredly, chewing quietly and not quite fully paying attention as if a little black rain cloud was always hovering over him. Petey shuffles slightly in his seat, still with Piglet in his lap and paying more attention to him than the rest of the family.

Chatter flooded the room, an invisible yet enchanting, blinding light came from each heart, connecting as one like the sun in the sky, bringing warmth to each soul.

Strangely, Emma felt home.

author's note

So I had to introduce the fam before the curse is broken, and I really want Emma and Winnie to have a strong relationship so that's uhhhh what this is

Also, per request, I'm skipping through a few episodes,, most of these upcoming chapters will probably be enchanted forest or set up for the later storyline— just bare with me, I have a few plot ideas that I need to introduce still before we finally break the curse and see Killian

Ngl, I didn't re-read any of this it might be a mess 🤩🤪

Hope it was good? Hope you liked it? Lemme know your thoughts on the family, and Emma+Winnie's friendship— do you like that Winnie is a huge mother figure to everyone? Idk, I just like feedback 😂♥️