This is my first ever OUaT story! (Finally) I love the mother/daughter dynamic between Emma and Snow, it's one of my fave things about the show! My story takes place during a night in the Enchanted Forest, before Emma, Snow & gang visit the castle. Pure mother/daughter fluff :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, for if I did, there would be never ending Charming Family Fluff...

Insecurities

By: ChibiUsa20

Emma Swan had never felt like this before.

Well, that was a lie.

She had learned early on to rely on herself as she was shuffled from foster home to foster home. She avoided intimate connections with others as she grew, causing her to put little trust in other people.

But as Emma looked at the sleeping form of Mary Margaret – her mother, she knew that those walls she had put up around her were beginning to fade away. This both scared and excited her all at once. She had finally found her true family, but she felt so insecure - almost as if she were a little girl again looking for a place to belong.

Sighing to herself, Emma stood from her place by the fire and pulled her leather jacket tighter around her as the night air sent a chill down her spine. She looked over at Aurora, who slept soundlessly underneath their makeshift tent, with Mulan sleeping nearby. Emma noticed that she was clutching her sword as she slept. Making sure that all were still sound asleep, Emma slowly backed away from the campsite and her companions.

As she made her way into the woods, Emma felt more at ease. Being alone was what she was used to. Being alone was supposed to be easy, yet she felt a pain in her heart.

She thought of her son.

Henry.

Emma wondered what he was doing now. Was he with Regina? Or was David… uh, her father… looking after him? Did he miss her as much as she missed him?

Emma lifted her head and stared into the night sky above her. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she cursed. She tightened her hands into fists and started to sob. She hated being here, hated not knowing what was going to happen, hated being away from her son… she felt so small, so afraid and so unsure of what her life had become after everything that had happened.

And yet all she could do was cry.

Unknown to Emma, Snow had followed her into the woods. She knew that Emma was having trouble being apart from Henry and was probably still trying to process the truth about her birth.

Snow wrapped her pink cardigan around her body as she searched for her daughter. She squinted her eyes and caught sight of Emma's long blond hair. Snow slowly approached her, but before she could say a word, she heard Emma's crying. Snow's heart ached for her child. She wanted to hold her in her arms and tell her that everything would be okay, but Snow knew that Emma just needed time. And Snow would wait forever at the chance to be apart of her daughter's life.

Snow slowly approached her grown child and lightly placed her hand on her shoulder, trying not to scare her. Emma turned around and Snow saw that her eyes were red, her cheeks were covered with tearstains and her hands were clenched tight. Snow's heart broke at the sight.

Emma had heard the footsteps behind her and she already knew who it was. Mary – her mother – had always known when she was upset, yet had given her some space before providing some much needed comfort. But the situation had changed now. This woman, her best friend, was now her mother. Someone she had wished for her whole life. Someone she had longed to find. Someone she had loved more than anything.

Once Emma made eye contact with Snow, she couldn't help herself.

"M-M-Mom…" She flung herself into Snow's arms, just wanting to be held. Snow responded by wrapping her arms tightly around her daughter, while trying to hush her cries.

"It's okay, honey… go ahead and cry," Snow whispered into Emma's ear, while rubbing her back. "I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere."

Emma sobbed into her mother's shoulder for few moments. As she struggled to catch her breath, she hiccupped. Pulling away from her mother, she looked down. "I'm sorry…"

Snow raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, no, Emma. There's nothing to be sorry for. A lot has happened today. I understand why you're so upset."

Snow reached for her daughter's hand, but Emma pulled away, suddenly angry.

"No! You don't understand! Today I found out that my parents are actually fairytale characters who put me through a magical wardrobe in order to save everyone from an evil Queen's curse… and I finally connected with my son, only to be ripped away from him… my normal life is gone… I can't do this… I can't be this person! I don't know how to do this! I just want to get back to my son!"

Emma turned away from her mother, feeling on the verge of crying again, her hard exterior completely falling away.

"I feel insecure," she admitted in a small voice, "I can't be the daughter you want. I barely know how to be a mother, and now I'm suddenly someone's daughter too? I can't… do this…"

Emma fell to the ground, ashamed and confused. Everything was changing around her and there was nothing she could do about it.

Snow's mouth fell open at her daughter's confession. She knew Emma must have felt some confusion regarding the day's events, but she had never known Emma to be so forward with her feelings of insecurity.

Snow sat down next to Emma and put her arm around her.

"Emma, you are the daughter I want," Snow began, while rubbing Emma's shoulder lightly. "Ever since you came into my life, I felt a connection with you. I had a missing piece in my life and you filled it. Even before I knew you were my child - as Mary Margaret - you were someone special to me. You still are."

Emma smiled a little at Snow's words as she leaned into her.

"This will take time, Emma," Snow explained, "We will get back to your father and Henry. I promise. We will do it together."

"I'm just not used to having someone be there for me… I'm so used to being alone and relying on myself," Emma admitted. "And I'm scared that I will let you down… I'm supposed to be the savior…but I got us stuck here, away from our family."

Snow shook her head, "You will never let me down, sweetheart. And as your father says, we will find them. Our family always finds each other."

Emma couldn't help but smile at the line. "Why is that?"

Snow beamed at her child, pride written all over her face. "Because we love each other. I love you Emma, more than anything else in this world. I will do anything I can to protect you and get us home safely."

Emma had longed to hear those words from her real mother for a very long time. It felt so right coming from this woman that it almost made her cry. Knowing that she couldn't quite say the words just yet, she replied with: "Me too, Mom… thank you… thank you for everything."

Snow squeezed her daughter's shoulder tightly and stood up. While reaching for her daughter's hand, she smiled. "Let's go back to camp and make sure the other two are okay." Knowing she had a real break-through with her child, Snow didn't want to push her any more than she needed to.

Emma took hold of her mother's hand and stood up, wiping the dirt off the back of her jeans as she did so. She was relieved that she had dealt with some of her feelings regarding the discovery of her parents and the separation from her son.

As she and her mother made their way back to camp, Emma couldn't help but think that although she was just learning to be a mother - she could learn to be someone's daughter too.

With that thought, Emma felt her insecurities slowly slipping away, only to be replaced by thoughts of hope and strength from the words of her mother.

Fin.

Please let me know what you think!

Love, ChibiUsa20