Needed to get my head cleared out after season 3, so this came from that :)
Not betat, so sorry for any mistakes.
Disclaimer: Not my characters, just playing with them.
Day has been exhausting but fun with all their friends and closed ones celebrating their son. Though it must have been even more so to Emma with time travel and all. In fact Emma had went to sleep as soon as they came to the loft. After Henry had also gotten to sleep and they get baby Neal to sleep Snow and Charming have finally time to talk about what had happened.
"It´s weird how I seem to remember both timelines now." Snow sighs.
"I wondered that too. Emma must have given us also our original memories. I would guess she didn´t want us to forget how all really went." Charming chuckles.
"I´m thankful for that. Though knowing now that she was Princess Leia, all seems to mean so much more." Snow says quietly not being able to keep tears at bay. "I feel so bad how I have handled her lately."
"What do you mean?" Charming asks confused.
"How I almost tried to forget her. I was so keen with idea that new baby would fix all that I almost forgot we already had a daughter." Snow answers starting to cry even more.
Charming starts to rub her back gently. "Don´t blame yourself. I also thought that it was better to let her have a real life with Henry."
"But you at least felt anxious about having second child after letting her go, while I was just thinking that we could replace all." Snow breaths out. "I don´t regret having Neal, I could never do that. But I should have remembered Emma more, especially when we had to separate again and not push our earlier plan so much forward. I don´t know how I could push her aside like that."
"Hey, don´t be so hard on yourself. I know that I let her go too easily too, it just that sometimes it has been so hard when she repeatedly pushes us away. And maybe you just tried to protect yourself from feeling all that quilt and pain. I if anyone know exactly how excruciating it can be." Charming tries to calm her.
"I guess you are right like always. I feel like I break down if I let myself think even a second what our decisions have done to her. It was easier to try live like nothing had happened. I know now that it couldn´t ever be like that. We have Neal now, but it´s not like I imagined. We can´t ever replace missing years. All is bittersweet now." Snow sighs.
"At least we got to have those experiences and what´s even better is that Emma is here with us to share all. But you are right, nothing can ever take that pain away. I realize it now too, but we can´t blame ourselves forever because if we haven´t send her first time Regina would have killed her and second time Henry would have been alone." Charming sighs sadly.
"Why all has to be so hard? I have just wanted our happy ending and now it seems it is forever out of our reach because those missing years." Snow sighs.
"Remember, happy endings are not always what we think they are. We just have to make most with what we have. If that last year didn´t teach us that, I don´t know what will." Charming says. "We have 2 healthy beautiful children, we are both alive and even have grandson, so live is actually pretty good if not ever that complete perfect life we wished for."
With that Snow leans more to him and gives him thankful kiss. "I don´t know what I will do without you."
"Good then that heart stunt worked." Charming laughs.
"No joking about you dying, please!" Snow says in harder tone and slaps his shoulder gently.
"You are right, too soon." Charming says apologizing. "What about our daughter having been at her first ball. I´m little disappointed I didn´t know who she was so that I could have gotten my daddy-daughter dance."
"How would you have reacted if she would have come to say to you who she really is?" Snow asks curious.
"I have to say I wouldn´t have believed her. Especially with that spell giving them different faces, I didn´t see anything familiar at her." Charming admits sadly.
"Same for me except at the end." Snow chuckles.
"What do you mean?" Charming asks curious.
"When Blue turned me back to human and she hugged me I felt this odd sense of closeness which I felt also when she came to town when we were still cursed." Snow explains. "I guess mother somehow knows always her child, no matter if she isn´t even born in that timeline." She laughs.
"You are the best mother I would have ever asked for my children, don´t ever suspect that." Charming says to her and give her kiss.
"You´re pretty good father also." Snow says. "I´m a little disappointed though that she got her first ball and I couldn´t dress her up."
"You will got your chance, we can throw a ball here." Charming promises.
"I guess second ball would be as good as first one. I really need to do that, that´s pretty much on of the only things I could still do that I dreamed doing with her." Snow says. "But I guess we should sleep now before baby wakes us up again."
"Yeah your right." Charming agrees and they settle down in each other's arms.
They wake few hours later hearing their child´s cries, but surprisingly not that child´s they suspected.
"MOM, NO." Sounds a scream from upstairs which was soon joined by her brother's cries who wakes to the noise.
"I guess we now got to experience what it´s like with two children crying at night." Charming chuckles when he wakes though he is little worried about Emma´s cries, Neal at least just needs food.
"I guess so." Snow chuckles. "Who will take care of whom?"
"No no no, MOM, no, mom…" Emma keeps repeating crying upstairs.
"Do you put any milk to fridge?" Charming asks.
"There should be couple bottles yes." Snow states.
"So it´s clear, I take care of Neal. Emma clearly needs you more at the moment." Charming says while Emma keeps crying mom.
"Your right, I trust you can feed him." Snow comments sarcastically fully aware that her husband have taken care of feedings before in last couple of days they have been at home with baby.
"We´re fine just go and tell Emma I love her." Charming ushers her to move while going to kitchen taking Neal in his arms.
Snow gets to her daughters room and every cried mom just breaks her heart even more.
"Emma honey wake up." Snow says silently shaking her shoulder little.
Emma jumps up. "Mom." She breaths out and envelops her mom in tight hug crying. "I saw you burning again, I can´t live without you."
"I´m here and I´m not going anywhere, you are safe. I promise you I´m not leaving you again." Snow says brushing gently Emma´s back and hair. "I love you baby girl so much."
"I love you too mom." Emma sobs out.
For a while they just hug each other crying, both thinking how much all the times they have lost each other hurt and how much they need each other.
"I would have wanted to save you from seeing that, if I had just known who you were." Snows sighs.
"But it was also good in a way, because it made me realize that you are my home and I´m lost without you." Emma says softly.
"Would you like me to stay for a while?" Snow asks.
"But what about Neal?" Emma asks hesitantly.
"Your father could take care of him for a while, you come first now. You are both just as important to us and we will always take care of both of you by rule who will need us most at the moment but always one of us would be there for both of you." Snow explains.
"I have never had anything like that before. I love you all." Emma sighs and falls asleep in her mother's arms.
"Maybe I haven´t failed completely and we still have a way to happy ending." Snow thinks feeling content and in peace holding her bigger baby who had finally acknowledged her as her mom." Better late than never." She thinks and fall asleep as well.
While girls talked Charming had gathered lofts boys in their bed. And sighed happily watching Henry sleeping next to him while his son drinks eagerly from his bottle. "Life really can surprise in a good way." He thinks while feeling happy to have his whole family there. He guess Snow stays sleeping with Emma and feels happy that his girls could get that, knowing how much they need each other even though both had tried from time to time forget it.