A Mother's Love
A/N: For Graciousportofships, Evil Tuesday Tumblr Prompt Ficlet. Alternate take on "Lady of the Lake" 2x03. Spoilers through that ep.
Prompt: Snow meeting Charming's mom (without the King George stuff).
Disclaimer: I own nothing because I'm saving up to buy the two season OUaT box set.
Rating: Teen (adult themes)
Special Thanks: KayleeThePete, my lovely and infinitely patient beta, you, my dartie, are the entire reason this got finished. And why I still have some shred of my sanity left.
Written While Under the Influence of: Adele-Make You Feel My Love.
Snow White had faced bloodthirsty trolls, laid siege to a castle, even willingly eaten a cursed apple without batting an eyelash, but with every step she took down the sunlit path to the cabin tucked away in the woods—the cabin where she was—the former bandit had to force herself not to turn right back around and run away.
Ruth. Charming's mother. Her fiancé's mother. And she was about to meet her for the first time.
Snow suddenly found herself wishing for another ambush; that, at least, she knew how to handle.
Worrying her lower lip with her teeth, she fussed with her coat for the fifth time in as many minutes, praying the dirt from where Lancelot had knocked her to the ground hadn't stained the white material. Snow suddenly wished she'd done more than just tied the bastard to a tree and stolen his horse after coming to and clocking him over the head with the butt of his own sword. Now she had to meet her future mother-in-law wearing a coat she'd rolled through dirt in. Not the best of first impressions. Especially since Charming's entire life and been turned upside down simply by her being in it.
What mother wanted a wild woman of the woods who only brought danger with her for their only son?
"Snow!"
She looked up to see the man himself striding down the path toward her, a huge grin on his face. Snow attempted one in return, although it felt more like a grimace. He didn't seem to notice, immediately taking her in his arms and kissing her. She was torn between melting into his embrace, happy and relieved he'd escaped George's ambush unscathed, and jumping out of his arms—an older woman in a cream-colored dress with a basket of flowers over her arm stood at the end of the path, watching them.
"You run into any trouble getting here?" Charming asked when he pulled away, threading his fingers through hers as he led her down the path, ever closer to the moment she'd dreaded since he suggested they regroup here.
"A little," Snow admitted, tugging at the front of her coat then patting down her hair—hoping just this once that the riotous curls would behave. "Nothing I couldn't handle though."
He grinned at her, squeezing her hand. "That's my girl."
"Woman," she corrected automatically, but her heart wasn't really in the banter. She was too busy repressing the urge to slap him; how the hell could he be so calm at a moment like this?! Her heart was pounding its way out of her chest and he was acting like they were out on a casual stroll through the woods. Snow plastered a smile on her face as they reached the end of the path, Charming stepping ahead of her to his mother's side without releasing her hand.
"Mother, I'd like you meet my fiancée, Snow White." He gestured to her with his other hand, blue eyes positively glowing with happiness and pride. "Snow, this is my mother, Ruth."
"It's an honor to meet you, ma'am. You raised a wonderful son." She pulled her hand from his, extending it tentatively to the older woman.
"Thank you," Ruth replied, beaming up at her son then turning those dark eyes on her. "He speaks very highly of you. I see he wasn't exaggerating about how beautiful you are." She ignored Snow's proffered hand, pulling her instead into an embrace. "Welcome to the family, Snow," she whispered into her hair.
The princess dazedly curled her arms around Ruth's shoulders, the words hitting her hard. She hadn't been part of a family in years. Yes, she had Red and even Granny, and most recently the dwarfs, but close as they all were—it wasn't like this. Ruth was warm and maternal, and Snow found herself fighting back tears, painfully reminded exactly how long it'd been since the last time she'd hugged her own mother.
"Thank you," Snow choked out, clenching her eyes shut—relishing the embrace as much as the easy acceptance.
Family. She was going to have a family again.
She opened her eyes, meeting Charming's over his mother's shoulder. His smile was bright as the morning sun, and she offered him her first genuine one of the day in return.
XXX
The day passed in a blur, the three of them bustling around the cabin and its small garden, preparing dinner together as if they'd done it a thousand times before. Snow relaxed in spite of herself, completely disarmed by the clear love between her husband-to-be and his mother. She was glad he had that presence in his life—Snow couldn't remember the last time Charming had smiled or laughed as much as he had today. Granted, war and battles didn't really lend themselves to levity, and although she loved the leader and fighter in him, Snow preferred this side. She'd rather see him happy and carefree than anything else, it was the one regret she had about being with him—that he sacrificed so much just to be with her.
Ruth didn't allow her much time to brood though; she kept Snow busy with stories. Endless stories about her son as he'd grown up. Snow listened with rapt attention, a dopey grin on her face as Charming laughed, smiled or blushed, depending on the story.
Dinner was lovely—the vegetables from Ruth's garden the freshest they'd had in a while—and entertaining, the stories—Ruth's and their own—flowed with the wine through the evening.
"David," Ruth began halfway through the dishes, "would you go out and gather some more firewood, please? The nights are cold here."
He put the glass he'd just finished drying away in the cupboard and nodded. "Yes, Mother." Charming lightly touched Snow's shoulder as he passed her on his way to the front door. "Be back in just a minute."
Snow had to bite back a "hurry back" as she watched him go, suddenly feeling as nervous as she had walking down the path to the cabin earlier that day. All the comfort she'd felt around Ruth the last few hours evaporated with the sound of the door closing, leaving the two of them alone and her without even the slightest clue as to what to say. She racked her brain for a safe subject, trying and failing to recall anything her mother or Johanna had mentioned as being appropriate conversation with her future mother-in-law. Instead, Snow mutely ran the cloth in her hand over the plate in the other—the plate that'd already been dry when Charming left.
"We don't actually need any firewood," Ruth interrupted her thoughts and Snow almost dropped the plate, green eyes shooting to kind brown ones. "I just needed to get him out of the house so that we could talk alone for a moment."
"Oh?" Snow replied, wincing at how high her voice sounded.
"You don't have to be nervous, you know. I remember how it feels to be in your position. Meeting your fiancé's mother for the first time, wanting to make a good impression because if she doesn't like you that might color how he sees you. But you needn't worry. All a mother really wants is to know that her child is happy.
"And I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. Like the sun, the moon and the stars, the entire world could all disappear but so long as you were still there...he wouldn't miss a thing." She paused, a faraway look in her eyes and a bittersweet smile on her lips, then her gaze returned to Snow's. "He loves you. He wouldn't have given you that ring otherwise," Ruth nodded at the emerald on Snow's left ring finger, "and that's good enough for me."
Snow lowered the plate to the table, a tiny grin tugging at her lips. "Thank you."
"That said, you have a dangerous path ahead of you. Taking back the kingdom from that bastard George," Ruth spat the name, her usually amiable features twisted with acute disdain as she scrubbed another plate particularly vigorously, "and the Queen..." She turned and those deep brown eyes bored right into Snow's, as though she was trying to look past the flesh and bone and into her soul. "I need to know you're strong enough to help him through this."
Snow flinched and ducked her head, guilt falling heavily on her shoulders, hands rising to fiddle with her ring. "I—" she began, but Ruth cut her off, a hand raised to silence her.
"Please don't misunderstand me. I know my son, he's strong and courageous. I don't worry about his physical well-being. At least, not so much," she allowed, drying her hands as she faced Snow fully. "What I worry about is everything else. David is the best person I know, but sometimes he's too much like his father. That unshakeable faith of his, as much as I love that about him—and I think you do too—that faith can also blind him."
Ruth took a deep, bracing breath and although her brown hair was already streaked with grey she suddenly looked so much older, her dark eyes filled with an old, familiar sadness. "I assume you already know about his brother James and the deal we made with Rumplestiltskin," she looked to Snow for confirmation, and continued at the princess' nod, "but there are things you don't know. Because there are things David doesn't know."
Snow couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips, stomach dropping with dread. She twisted the ring around her finger so hard she could feel it catch her skin but said nothing, merely staring at Ruth.
"When Rumplestiltskin came all those years ago, my husband refused the deal. He had such faith that we would survive together, as a family. Even though we'd barely been able to maintain the farm and feed ourselves, let alone take care of two more hungry mouths. I was the one who convinced him to say yes."
Snow tried to control her reaction, gripping her hands together so tight her knuckles cracked—the sound incredibly loud in the quiet room—but something must've shown on her face anyway.
Tears filled Ruth's brown eyes and she went on quickly, "I knew that if we tried to hold on to both of them, I would be burying two sons instead of raising them. But if I let one go, they could both live good lives, loved and provided for. And I was willing to never again set eyes on one of my sons if it meant they both lived.
"Because that's what a mother does for her children, she puts them first. Even when it breaks her heart." Ruth blinked back her tears and stared at Snow, willing her to understand, then took a step forward, clasping the younger woman's pale hands in her own. "It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, and not a day goes by that I don't wish I'd gotten to raise my James, to see him and David grow up together, but I know that I made the right choice.
"I need to know that you'll be strong enough to make the hard decisions when the time comes. And that you'll be able to temper his faith, keep him grounded. He's going to need you, Snow."
Snow took a deep breath, a single tear sliding down her cheek, but she set her jaw and nodded. "I'll always be there for him, whatever he needs. Always."
Ruth gave her a watery smile and drew her into a hug. "Thank you. Although that faith of his isn't always a bad thing, you know. That faith is what brought him to you."
Snow pressed her hands to her future mother-in-law's back, closing her eyes tightly to keep more tears at bay. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Now," Ruth began, clearing her throat as she pulled away, tears gleaming on her own cheeks, "I have something I want you to have." Her hand moved to her throat, unclasping the medallion she wore on a thin chain around her neck. She captured one of Snow's hands and pressed it into her palm.
"No," the raven-haired woman took a step back, shaking her head, "I couldn't."
But Charming's mother kept a firm grip on her hand, refusing to let her give it back. "Nonsense. I want you to have this. Consider it a belated engagement present."
Snow carefully opened her palm, staring at the circular pendant with an intricate raised design on the stone. "It's beautiful," she whispered, running her fingers lightly over it.
"It's been in my family for generations. My mother gave it to me when I was pregnant with my boys. It's a special necklace. She said it'd been spelled by gypsies, that it would predict the sex of your firstborn, even before you are with child."
"And it works?" Snow asked, trying to keep her voice light even as a frisson of excitement flared through her.
"It did with my boys." Ruth nodded, eyes gleaming with joy.
Snow bit her lip, standing perfectly still as she stared at Charming's mother. "How's it work?"
Ruth smiled, reaching out and lifting the necklace by the chain from her hand. She caught the pendant in her other palm, holding it steady. "If it swings north to south, it's a boy; east to west, a girl." She raised an eyebrow at Snow. "Shall we?"
Snow nodded, hand trembling as Ruth let one hand fall away, the pendant swinging freely like a pendulum over her open palm. It felt like all the air was sucked out of her lungs as she watched it gently sway from side to side. "A girl. We're going to have a daughter." Snow's lips curled into a wide grin, her free hand pressing to her stomach as she fought to breathe. "Ruth, I— Thank you," she gasped, squeezing Ruth's hand in gratitude.
The older woman squeezed back, holding the necklace out to her. "Thank me by continuing the family tradition with that little girl," she nodded to Snow's stomach. "You are going to be a wonderful mother. And a wonderful wife."
Snow gave a teary laugh, curling her fingers tightly around the medallion, feeling the raised design dig into her palm, still breathless with joy. She hadn't hoped to ever feel this way, not since before her mother died—terrified that if she ever felt truly happy again something would happen to take it all away and Snow didn't think she could survive losing everything a second time. But now, here, with her fiancé's mother, Snow finally let it in. Let herself hope.
The front door opened and shut, then a moment later Charming entered the room, a stack of firewood cradled to his chest. He stared between them where they stood together in the kitchen, the remnants of tears on both their faces. "Everything okay in here?"
Snow couldn't speak past the lump in her throat and merely nodded, pressing the hand with the medallion to her heart.
Ruth kept hold of her free hand as she spoke, "Just getting to know my daughter-in-law." She gave Snow a reassuring nod and moved back to the dishes in the sink.
Charming piled the firewood beside the hearth then strode over to Snow, trailing his hands down her arms. "What'd I miss?" His concerned blue gaze held hers as he drew her toward him.
"Your mother gave me an engagement present," Snow said, opening her hand and letting him see the medallion in her palm. She watched the recognition flash across his face, the way his eyes widened and he sucked in a deep breath, and she couldn't help but smile.
"And?" he asked, voice hoarse.
Snow grinned at him, happiness bubbling up in her chest. "It's a surprise."
A grin curved his lips and Charming trailed his fingertips fondly down her cheek. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, pulling back to whisper against her lips, "We're going to be a family, Snow." His hand brushed her waist and her heart tripped in her chest.
She kissed him softly, murmuring back, "Someday."
"Someday soon," he amended.
"David, could you help me with the rest of the dishes, please?"
Charming drew back, smiling and pressing one last kiss to her forehead before joining his mother and grabbing a towel. Snow watched them, rubbing her thumb over the medallion. Yes, they were going to be a family. She was going to have a family again. And she couldn't be happier.
Thanks for reading!
SassySnow1988