"Emma…" I hear a soft voice calling my name and pulling me from my blissful slumber. I moan tiredly and force my eyes to open. I am greeted with the sight of my mother. She is standing over me with a large, cheerful grin on her face.

"Time to wake up sleeping beauty." She coos softly.

"M' not Aurora." I mutter, turning back over to bury my head in the pillows.

"You have to get up! We all agreed we'd go and pick out a tree this morning!"

"I never agreed to do anything this early." I protest burrowing further into my pillows.

"Come on, Emma!" She whines. I lay still and try to pretend I've fallen back asleep in hopes that she'll give up and leave me be. "Emma!" she huffs. "I know you're not asleep!" Everything is quiet for a moment until I hear her sigh followed by the sound of her footsteps leaving the room.

Success! I smile contently and bask in the warmth of my bed as I began to drift back to sleep. My success was short lived however as suddenly my warm covers are viciously yanked from me by my lovely mother. "Mom!" I yell.

"Get up!" she demands using that tone I have come to recognize as her "you-better-listen-young-lady-I'm-your-mother" tone. Normally I would argue but it's too early and I don't have the energy to. So, I sigh, defeated and push myself up out of bed.

"Alright, you win. I'm up." She smiles in triumph and skips back downstairs after informing me that breakfast was ready and we would be leaving in two hours. I get dressed and hurry downstairs, my stomach rumbling at the smell of the food.

"Morning Em!" my Dad greets me as I plop down at the table. He slides me a cup of coffee and a plate of fluffy pancakes covered with sweet syrup and three slices of crispy bacon on the side. I smile in gratitude and dig in. My mom emerges from the bedroom a diaper bag slung over her shoulder and carrying a bottle in one hand and a sleeping baby Neal in the other.

"Everything ready?" she asks my dad.

"Yep!" he responds. "I already called Regina and let her know we'd be stopping by to pick up Henry in a few."

"Okay." She says. "I have Neal's stuff all packed. He has a fresh bottle, plenty of diapers and wipes, and a change of clothes just in case. Are you ready Emma?"

"Mmhm" I reply scarfing down my last bite of pancakes.

"Alright, grab your jacket and hat and let's go."

The bitter, cold air stings my skin as we walk aimlessly around the Christmas tree farm. "Are we done yet?" I moan. "These trees all look the same let's just pick one and get out of this fricken cold."

"But Mom" Henry whines "We have to pick out the perfect tree." I roll my eyes. I'll never understand all this "picking out the perfect tree" nonsense. It's just a tree what's the point? They're all practically the same. We should have just gotten a fake one, would have been less of a hassle. But no, my mother insisted that we are going to have a "real" Christmas with a "real" tree. And of course, Dad and Henry (especially Henry) were quick to agree with her.

So, here we are walking around in the freezing cold just to find some measly tree to stuff in the tiny apartment. My parents and Henry carefully look around, examining each tree and discussing it while I trek along behind them. Right now my parents are talking about one tree my dad picked. Mom thinks it's too tall to fit in the apartment but Dad thinks otherwise. He tries to estimate the height, using his arms as a make-shift ruler. I glance around to try and see where Henry has wandered off to. I spot him a little ways ahead. I can tell he is concentrating by the expression on his face as he looks around at all the trees. His concentrated expression soon turns into a familiar smile, his eyes sparkling with joy.

"Hey guys, over here." He calls. "I think I found it." We walk over to him and he points to a tree. It's about medium height, not too big to where it wouldn't fit in the apartment but just the right size, dark green with branches that hang perfectly from its round truck. It's like something I've only seen in the movies. I wrap my arm around Henry and smile proudly.

"Kid, I think you just found the perfect Christmas tree."

"Our perfect Christmas tree." My mom corrects smiling.

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