hunnyfresh - Letters from War

A kid was crying off camera and several of them weren't even singing while the others had half-heartedly attempted the dance moves, but Henry was giving it his all. When the song ended, Emma wanted to clap along with the audience, but she felt the moisture in her eyes tip over her lids and used her index to wipe them away.

"Go, Henry!" August's gruff voice sounded behind the camera.

The audience quieted down again for the next song to play. The beginning bars of "You Are My Sunshine" started to sound and Emma finally noticed that the kids had their hands behind their backs. When they started to sing, a paper plate painted yellow with yellow and orange triangles glued around the edges were revealed to be the mystery, but the best part was the picture in the middle. Henry's had a picture of Regina, and no doubt the other kids had pictures of their parents as they sang loudly: " You are my sunshine! My only sunshine! You make me happy! When skies are grey! "

The audience awed in adoration as they continued to sing, swaying their suns to and fro. Emma laughed as the song moved from the chorus to the verse where the kids started to lose momentum and began to mutter, though she noticed that Tina must have rewrote the song a bit to make it more appropriate. The chorus returned and the kids sang loudly again as one and repeated until the song died down. A collective applause came from the audience before the camera blacked out.

Emma sat in her chair grinning widely as a steady tear streamed down her face. God, the ache in her chest pounded so hard it made her feel numb. She wanted to see him there in the flesh so badly. She wanted to be the one sitting next to Regina, holding the camera and embarrassing Henry with applause and hollers.

She shook her head, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand before leaning forward in her chair to stop the tape.

The screen crackled again and she paused, sitting back down and squinting.

Henry was running across the lawn after what looked to be the end of the concert, his sunshine craft swinging in his hand as he ran straight into Regina's embrace. Emma's breath caught in her throat when she saw Regina for the first time in nearly five months. Judging by the Mayor's designer jeans and button up, Regina had taken the day off from work to see her son's concert, and Emma's heart swelled with a painful longing.

"Did you see me, Mommy?!" Henry jumped up and down when Regina released him.

The brunette remained crouched by his level and clapped her hands once in excitement. "Of course, I did, sweetie! You did so well."

"Hey, buddy," August said from behind the camera.

Henry smiled up at August and was already swinging his hand towards August's for a high-five that the man met. "You see me, Un-ca August?" He repeated his question, unfazed by the rolling camera.

"You were great, kid. Say hi to Emma for me."

"Where?" Henry looked behind him then to his mother confused.

Regina held Henry to her front and pointed up towards the camera.

"Hi Emma!" Henry waved excitedly with his sunshine-holding hand. "You see me, Emma?"

"Yeah, she's going to," August explained with a chuckle. "Come here, kid."

Henry went, and the camera shifted before the screen was filled with August and Henry's heads pressed together. "Say I miss you."

"I miss you!"

"Say I love you."

"I love you!" Emma bit her lip, trying to contain her grin but allowed it show without much of a fight.

"Say Mommy loves you."

"Mommy loves you!" Emma rolled her eyes, especially when August's eyebrows rose just a little bit to show how pleased he was with himself.

"Say Uncle August loves you."

"Un-ca August loves you!"

"Say I'm the best."

"I'm the best."

"No, I'm the best," August clarified.

"I'm the best," Henry giggled, insistent. He squirmed out of August's arms and ran to Regina who had stood and glanced shyly at the camera, the sun shining right behind her making her glow. Emma smiled. The Mayor could hold press conferences in front of grumpy, old, men and make them feel two inches tall with just a glare, and she could use her words to talk circles around lawyers, but in that moment, Regina simply looked like a mother, camera shy and pleased as Henry swung her arms around. "Right, Mommy?"

"You're the best," Regina confirmed.

"You got something to say to Emma?" August enticed, but to Emma it sounded like goading.

Regina glared at him for a moment before bending down to swing Henry onto her hip. She stared at the camera begrudgingly for half a second, the conflict clear to Emma before it lifted and brown eyes softened. Regina squeezed Henry to her and smiled softly at the camera. "Hi, soldier," she said quietly to the camera as August zoomed in so it was just Henry and Regina's face filling the screen. "We wish you were here. Stay safe and visit again soon."

The slow, controlled words Regina spoke had Emma knowing she was making great effort not to say too much or sound more than a friend than she actually was. It was painful in the worst way. She was there, Emma could see Regina, but it wasn't completely her, and god, it sucked. It seemed Regina felt the same for she looked down for the briefest of moments before smiling softly again, nudging Henry with her cheek. "Say goodbye to Emma, dear."

He waved happily to the camera. "Bye, Emma!"

"We'll see you soon, Emma," Regina promised.

The camera shifted back to August, and the man winked. "Be good, kid."

The screen cut out for good this time, and Emma was left sitting in the viewing room, her eyes shut and a flurry of emotion rushing through her. How could she be so ridiculously happy and so, so sad at the same time? Her head dropped to her hands, smiling at how Henry had jumped eagerly into his songs, how August had gone to such an effort to send Emma a tape, and how Regina looked so goddamn pretty it was insane.

Christ, she didn't ever think she'd be homesick this much. It was like all the years Emma moved from foster home to foster home made up for the fact that the overwhelming feeling of absolutely needing to go back home struck her so hard she couldn't even think straight.

But god, Henry was cute singing those songs. She'd have to have a word with both Regina and August though. When did they become so chummy-chummy? Emma had to admit, she kind of liked the idea that he approved of Regina and that he'd taken up his role as Uncle August eagerly. She bet he had Henry calling him that all day.

Wow, Emma thought as she leaned back in her chair. They were her family .

She exhaled and leaned her elbows on her knees in dumbstruck realization. Wow. Her family was pretty damn awesome.

September 22, 2004 - Fort Benning, Georgia

Emma nodded as she dropped in her latest letter to Regina into the outgoing box and turned sharply to exit out of the mail room. She had about an hour to kill before dinner, and that hot cocoa was calling her name. As she exited the mail room and turned toward the servery, Emma nearly collided right into Neal.

"Woah." Emma narrowly avoided him and sidestepped, but he grabbed her forearm more tightly than she was ready for. She paused and instinctively ripped her arm back, putting distance between herself and Neal as the man towered over her. "What?"

"Can we talk?" He whispered as he approached, though Emma took a step back.

"About what?"

A crowd of people walked between them, and Emma thought for a second that she could get lost in them, but she wasn't a coward, and she was more than a little curious to see what he wanted.

Neal motioned his head back to their empty barracks where the rest of their team were either in the common rooms, showers, or at their MOS. It was rare for their room ever to be empty, and clearly Neal was taking advantage of that.