Just something I came up with while all of us are going through Once withdrawal.
Emma Swan was never one to pout or mope but when she saw that pink bundle in her mother's arms her first pout since she was probably three came. She put on a happy face for her parents but she had been struggling with the same questions for nine months. Why didn't they want? Why do they want to replace me? Why aren't I enough for them? She saw her mother look at her and put on a fake smile.
"Do you want to hold your sister Emma?"
"No, I don't think that's a good idea."
"I'll do it!" Henry said excitedly as he dropped into a chair and David brought his aunt over to him. Emma watched as her son held her sister and wanted nothing more than to hate the baby. Of course she couldn't, the baby was innocent in all this. She didn't know what she was being born into. The next few weeks were tough ones with Snow and Charming trying to function on close to no sleep. Seems little Eva had the same stubbornness as her big sister and once she was up, she was up. Snow eventually had to go back to work which meant Aunt Ruby and Uncle Grumpy took turns watching the small infant. Grumpy had to admit he had no idea what he was doing but quickly got the hang out of it. Emma all but ignored her father at work. He tried to talk to her but she just ignored him and when he kept trying, she went into her office and shut the door. She knew was acting like teenager but she didn't care. They were her parents, she had just gotten them back and just as quickly she had lost them to a crying brat.
"We have to do something Charming. She won't even look at us. She's never said two words to Eva."
"I know Snow but we can't push her."
"I'm sick of hearing that David! All the time you tell me I can't push her well guess what, I'm pushing now. We're going out tonight, Henry is staying with Regina, and Emma is spending time with her sister." Charming sighed knowing this was going to end badly. When Emma got back from dropping Henry off at Regina's, Snow dropped the bomb. Emma stopped dead and turned to her parents.
"Excuse me? I have to watch her! She's not my responsibility, she's yours."
"She's your sister and you will spend time with her one way or another."
"Fine you can leave and I'll call Ruby or Grumpy to come and watch her."
"Nice try, everyone has already been notified that they are not to come here tonight." Snow said. This was news to Charming as well.
"I'm not doing it." Emma sat down on the couch. Snow got up and got right in front of her oldest.
"Perhaps I wasn't clear. You don't have a choice!"
"I'm not one of your servants that you can order around! I'm your daughter God damn it!" Eva decided now was a good time to wake up. "Go take care of your prize child." It suddenly dawned on Charming exactly what was going on. He got up and went over to them.
"Snow, go take care of the baby I've got her." Snow nodded and went to take care of Eva.
"Here to scold me and tell me not to talk to my mother that way?"
"No, I'm here to talk to you. We need to talk."
"We don't need to do anything!"
"I'm your father and you will talk to me."
"Okay, here's the thing. Neither you nor her are my parents because both of you let me go at not even an hour old and then had another baby to replace me. Parents don't do that to their child. This is just like the Swans."
"Who?"
"My first foster family. I was with them until I was three and then they had a baby of their own and gave me back. I called them mommy and daddy because they had me since I was found." Charming looked at her.
"Emma, we're not trying to replace you. We missed everything with you, we just wanted a chance to experience it."
"It doesn't change that fact that apparently I'm not enough for you two. Why can't you two just love me who I am? Why do I have to do to be enough? I'll do anything." Emma said as tears actually fell from her eyes. Charming's heart broke at his daughter's questions. Before he could stop himself, he pulled her into his arms. His heart swelled when she didn't pull back but instead wrapped her arms around him.
"Emma. You are enough sweetheart. I'm so sorry. Your mother and I love you more than you can ever know because of who you are. We never meant to make you feel like you weren't enough for us. I could kick myself right now for doing that to you. Emma Ruth, we love you because of the smart, confident, beautiful woman that you are. You don't have to anything to be enough for us. You could still be a thief and we'd still love you, heck, when I met your mother she was a thief. Emma don't ever think that we don't love you or aren't enough for us because that is the farthest thing from the truth." He pressed a kiss to her head as tears of his own streamed down his face in small narrow rivers. Emma lifted her head and looked at him. She wiped her own tears and took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry too. I haven't been fair to either of you. Go out tonight. I'll watch the- Eva." Charming cups her face in his hands and presses a hard kiss to her forehead. After they leave, Emma goes up to her room and gets box. She quietly goes over to where the cradle is. She looks at the plastic mobile hanging over the crib. She looks down and sees Eva's eyes open and staring up. "What is this thing? No, you deserve something better." She carefully unhooks the mobile from its hanger and put it on the bed. "Here this was supposed to me mine but I think you'll get more use out of it then me." She pulls out the unicorn mobile from the box and ties it on the hanger over the crib. "One rule though, don't break them. They're very special. I'm not going to lie to you. I wish I could hate you but I can't because you're innocent in all this." She carefully and slowly picked up the baby. She's the first baby that Emma holds in her arms. She slowly sits on her parent bed and smiles at her sister. She just looks at her for a while before smiling. "Look at that, we have the same chin." She laughs slightly and then hesitantly kisses the baby. "I'll make sure nothing bad ever happens to you. No dark curse is going to rip you away from you- our parents. I'm big sister and it's my job to take care of you."
