You're Never Too Far From Home
Prologue
Emma Swan stared lovingly at the bundle in her arms. Tears poured down her face as she handed her son to the doctor. Her son. That phrase sounded so strange to her, yet, so right.
"Are you sure?" The doctor asked hesitantly. "You know, it's not too late to change your mind." Emma shook her head swiftly.
"I can't…" She took a deep breath as more tears plunged down her face, "I can't be a mom." The doctor nodded, and Emma could make out the slightest look of disappointment on his face.
"Okay." Emma held her breath as the doctor began to walk out, her son in hand, and that was when it really hit her. She was really giving her son, her own flesh and blood away. She would never see him again.
"Wait." Her voice was strained, weak, and the doctor barely heard her. "I changed my mind." Smiling, the doctor turned to face her, along with her son. (Hers)
"Why the sudden change of heart?"
"I…" Emma paused. Truth be told, she honestly did not know the answer to that question. Why did she suddenly change her mind? Not wanting to keep the doctor waiting, she responded with the only answer she knew to be true.
"I love him."
.
"Ssshhh. Shh. It's okay, it's alright." Emma tried to soothe her crying baby. It was three in the morning and all the new mother really wanted was some rest. She hadn't really gotten any since she brought her son home to her new apartment she had bought with the money someone had sent her whilst she was in jail. The eighteen year old had a vague idea of who sent her that money, but she didn't really want to know for sure.
"Please stop crying." Emma begged her chid desperately. "Max, please." She sighed, tears threatening to spill. Who was she kidding? She could never be a good mother. She could never be anything. "Sometimes I wish I never would have kept you." She muttered, placing Max in his crib and flicking the light switch off. She immediately regretted her words after exiting, but what she said was true.
Emma wanted to give her baby his best chance, and truthfully, she didn't know if it was really with her. Maybe she was just being selfish. She had only thought about what she wanted and not what her child would want. He'd want a good life. He'd want a stable family. He'd want love. Emma wasn't sure if she could give Max all of those things.
Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Emma laid down in bed, the springs creaking from underneath her. She was just about to fall into a deep slumber when, suddenly, she heard footsteps. They sounded like they were coming from the hallway right outside of her room. "Hello?" Emma called out, slowly sitting up. "Is anybody there?" Silence. Emma carefully slipped out of her room and edged towards Max's room. The last thing she wanted was for someone or something to harm her child.
When Emma entered her son's room, she was met with a cool breeze. Glancing over at the far wall, she discovered that the window had been left open. Emma walked over to close it, having no memory of opening the window in the first place. It was only once she passed Max's crib when she realized what was wrong.
Max wasn't in it.
"No." She whispered. It couldn't be. "No!" She screamed, sobbing hysterically. "Max!" Emma screamed, louder that time. She darted over to the light switch and turned it on. Now she could clearly see the empty room. Emma had to hold onto the crib to keep herself from falling. "Max." She uttered his name softly, burying her head in her hands.
"I love you."
A/N: I apologize for my writing at the moment, I know it isn't the best. I'll try to make the first chapter better. You'll find out who kidnapped Emma's son and why soon enough. And, for the record, 'Max' is Henry, Emma just named him Max in the beginning. For the sake of my fic, that was his original name. Just had to clear that up. So, um…. Review please? This is my first ouat mulit-chapter fic. :)