DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, I do not own Once Upon A Time, or the characters. It all belongs to ABC, Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.
THIS IS MY FIRST EVER FANFIC. Please be patient! I would really appreciate ratings, reviews etc. ENJOY!
Emma's shaken up over the fact that she has hurt Henry, and her parents try to find the best way to comfort her. Set after 3x15 (ish). CaptainSwan and CharmingFamily (mainly Daddy!Charming).
Today had been a very trying and emotional day for Emma. Sure, it just seemed like any normal day in Storybrooke, but today was it. The breaking point. Henry had nearly been killed because of her. It was her fault that he'd ended up in hospital. Thank God he was okay, though. Emma was glad when Regina offered to take Henry for the night, as she couldn't bear the guilt of it all, even though Henry had said several times that he was okay, and that there was nothing to worry about.
Emma tried to be tough, undeterred. She was failing. She managed to keep it together, right up until she stumbled into the apartment. She threw her keys and jacket on the counter and kicked her shoes off, as she slumped on the floor, leaning against the couch, and taking deep breaths to keep herself from falling apart.
After what seemed like hours, David threw open the door.
"Your mom will be back soon. She just stopped to get groceries."
He stopped for a moment, looking around. "Emma?" He spotted her, unmoved from her position on the floor, knees brought up to her chin, and her arms wrapped tightly around them. There were tears silently sliding down her cheeks, whilst she stared blankly into the distance. David moved cautiously over to her. He sat next to her on the floor, and placed one hand on her knee. "Emma, sweetheart, what's wrong?"
Emma shook her head violently, not looking at him. She gulped back a sob.
"Honey, you can tell me anything! I'm here for you! Just tell me what the matter is," David said calmly.
Emma completely lost it. She immediately burst into a fresh flood of tears. David pulled her into his arms, and cradled her as she let the sobbing take over. "I'm here, baby, it's okay," he said soothingly.
"I...I...Daddy, I can't do it!" Emma choked out.
David rubbed her back softly, trying to calm her. "Sweetie, what do you mean?"
"I...I just can't...do it! It's so...hard!"
She buried her face into his chest. She clung to his shirt like a child, desperate. She didn't care about anything else. All she wanted was her daddy. Neither of them had even noticed Snow come in through the door, until she sat down on the couch, and took one of Emma's hands tenderly. Emma looked up at her mother, her eyes big and tear-filled. She looked helpless. Snow wiped away her daughter's tears gently with her thumb, then kissed her forehead.
"I don't want to be the Savior anymore!" Emma blurted out.
"Oh Emma!" Snow exclaimed.
Emma sat up properly, so she could look at her parents at the same time. "Every time I try and help the town, someone gets hurt, or even killed!"
"It's not your fault!" David soothed.
"I almost lost Henry today. My actions nearly cost him his life!"
"But he's fine!" Snow said, trying to reassure her.
"Yeah, but how much longer can I go on like this? Next time I might actually get him killed! I can't do this anymore!" Emma's voice was getting higher as she talked. The tears were coming back. She scrubbed fiercely at her face, trying to eradicate the emotions. Emma stood up abruptly, almost throwing David off balance. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."
And with that, she shuffled off upstairs. "Snow, honey, go pick Neal up from Granny's. I need to make a call," David said seriously.
"David..." Snow said, looking at him worriedly.
"Emma is not okay. And even though I hate to say this, Hook needs to be here right now. She needs him."
Snow smiled widely at her husband, content with the idea that he was quite possibly warming up to having Hook in their daughter's life.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door. David leaped to his feet and ran towards the door. "I think this the first time you've greeted me with a smile, mate!" Hook joked halfheartedly.
"You need to go see her. She's up the stairs," David said, pointing, "She started opening up to us, then shut us out. It was like she realized that she was letting down her walls, and didn't like it."
Hook put his hand on David's shoulder. "Just give it time. She'll get there." He added a smile, then started towards the stairs. He gave a quick smile and wave at Snow, who had just finished putting Neal to bed.
As he got to the top step, he faltered at the sight of Emma. She was lying on her side on the bed, with her back to the stairs. She was curled up, clutching a pillow to muffle her sobs.
"Emma," he exhaled.
She lifted her head to see who it was, then let out another sob of relief when she saw that it was her pirate stood there. As he made his way over to her side, she sat up and made room for him. She threw her arms around his neck, and gripped tightly to him while she cried. Hook simply held her, and rubbed her back, in an attempt to calm her sobs. "It's alright, love, I'm here," he said a couple of times.
Eventually, Emma lifted her head from the crook in his neck to look at him. Hook couldn't help but feel utterly heartbroken when he saw her red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "You ready to talk about it, love?" he questioned gently.
She nodded, her lip quivering slightly. She then took a breath to calm herself before she started. "Honestly, everything is just too much for me right now." Her voice cracked as she spoke. Hook took hold of her hand to reassure her. She continued. "Every decision I make, everything I do, it always leads to something terrible happening. People have been hurt and even killed because of what I've done! It just can't happen anymore. It has to stop!"
"It's alright, love, I understand," Hook said.
"But that's the point, Killian! You don't! No one does!" She cried out in response, "Nobody understands how much pressure they've all put on me! I can't take it anymore!"
Her emotions overwhelmed her once more, and she dissolved into another flood of tears. Hook didn't have the strength or the heart to argue with Emma, so he just sat there with her, letting her cry herself to sleep, all whilst feeling completely and utterly helpless.