"Emma! Come on sweetheart, lunch is ready!" Snow called out sweetly. Her daughter came bouncing down the stairs of their apartment, her blonde curls bouncing along with her. "Here I am, mommy!" she answered with a bright smile. Snow sat a plate with a sandwich and a handful of grapes down for Emma.
Emma climbed into the chair, determined to be a big girl, and happily began eating after she thanked her mother. Snow grinned, "You're welcome. And don't forget to drink all your milk this time. You want to grow to be big and strong, don't you?" Emma scrunched up her nose, she wasn't a fan of milk, "Fine...But I want juice with dinner." Snow chuckled as she sat across from Emma, "We'll see. You just drink that milk." Emma was halfway through with her lunch when the door opened, "How's my two favorite girls?!" David came in the door with a wide smile.
"Daddy!" Emma was excited, David was usually never home this early but since it was friday and tomorrow was Emma's sixth birthday, he took the rest of the day off to help Snow get ready for the celebration. All of Emma's kindergarten class was coming and the place needed to be decorated accordingly. "How's my princess?" David asked, looking at Emma before kissing his wife.
"Ewy!" she giggled as she popped a grape into her mouth. "Ready for tomorrow!" Emma answered. Her parents just chuckled at their daughter's cuteness. "I bet. So birthday girl, remind me how old are you going to be? 35?" Emma laughed, "Silly daddy! I'm going to be six." David walked over to Emma, kissing her cheek, "Oh that's right! Daddy forgot."
He continued walking into the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water, "Our little girl is growing up so fast." Snow mentioned, looking over at David as Emma finished her lunch. "She is. Soon she'll be driving." David teased, earning a playful glare from Snow. "Don't be silly. She has ten more years before that happens." "Finished." Emma interrupted, sliding herself away from the table. "Ah ah ah, young lady you didn't finish your milk." Snow stopped her, pointing to the full glass that sat on the table. David finished his water, "Come on Emma, drink you milk then we can go watch a movie." Emma furrowed her brow, "But Neal said I don't have to drink it." Snow and David looked at each other, "Who is Neal?" they both asked at the same time.
Emma pointed to the chair that was closest to her, "That's Neal sitting right there." Her parents couldn't see him but Emma did. Neal was a five year old, he was in Emma's class but had gotten sick and recently passed away. He was her best friend, everyday in class they sat together, enjoying each other's company. Snow had a worried look on her face when she realized who Emma was referring to, "Emma, daddy and I will be right back. You stay right there."
She got up, motioning for David to follow her over to the other side of the room, still keeping an eye on Emma. "Who is this Neal kid and should I be worried?" David started off the conversation. Snow shook her head, "You don't remember Neal Gold? Mr. & Mrs. Gold's son, he was Emma's best friend." It took a moment but David's mind clicked and he gave an "Oh" expression. "So she's seeing a ghost?"
Snow shook her head, "No, I think she's made him into her imaginary friend..." David looked over at his daughter, she was talking to where she said Neal was sitting. This nearly broke his heart, his daughter was missing her best friend and there was virtually nothing he could do to fix it. "Should we tell her that he's not really there?" Snow shrugged, "I don't...I don't know. None of the books I read had information about this. The only thing I can think of would be to call Regina."
David sighed, calling his step-mother-in-law was always a last resort but she had experience with raising Snow and her own son Henry, who was ten now. "This goes against my better judgement but fine, call her. Maybe she'll actually be helpful this time and not just criticize us."
Snow nodded, her step mother wasn't but about 14 years older than she was but she still respected her as a mother figure. While her parents continued talking, Emma let out a laugh. "I like my hair bow too. Thanks Neal." Neal smiled at her, "You're welcome, Swan." She quirked a brow, "How come you always call me Swan?" He stood up and poked her cheek, "Because swans are beautiful but they like to keep it hidden. I read a lot of books about them." Emma blushed, Neal always called her pretty, even before he became her best friend. "Books are your favorite, huh?"
He nodded, "My mom loves books. She reads a book everyday." "We should go read a book then!" Emma said, the excitement in her tone caught her parents' attention. "Yeah! Let's go." Neal held out his hand and Emma took it once she stood up. Her parents saw her holding out her hand though to her she was grabbing Neal's hand, to her parents she was just grabbing air.
"Emma honey, what are you doing?" She turned around smiling, "We're going up to my room to read." Snow was speechless, "Go on princess. Mommy and I will be down here if you need us, okay?" David spoke up, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulder. "Okay daddy!" Emma walked up the stairs, still holding Neal's hand.
Snow quickly turned to her husband once their daughter made it to her room. "She really believes that someone is there! David what are we going to do?!" He took her hands in his, "We'll get through this. It's just a phase. Now go call Regina and I'll start decorating." Snow nodded, though reluctant, she pulled out her phone and called her step mother. The conversation didn't last very long and it ended with Regina hanging up on Snow. David was hanging up streamers when he looked over his shoulder, only to notice his wife gripping tightly onto the phone. "What did she say?"
Snow's eyes stayed straight ahead, "That she's on her way with Henry..." David sighed, "Great. So we get to hear her criticism in person. At least Henry will be there to lighten the mood." Snow just shook her head, "I need something to drink..." "There's juice in the fridge." "No, I mean wine." She started rummaging through the cabinets, searching for the drink she desperately desired. "Found it!" She smirked as she pulled out a bottle. Just as she finished pouring a glass, though her husband warned against it, the door opened and Regina walked in, Henry right behind her. "Where is she?" David rolled his eyes as he stepped down from the chair he was standing on, "And hello to you too, Regina."
Snow walked over, downing half her glass, "Upstairs. Hi Henry." The young boy offered a smile to his big sister before hugging her, "Hey Snow! Hi David." he waved. David returned the smile, "Hey bud. Wanna help me decorate for Emma's party?" Henry nodded and his mother let go of his hand, grinning at him before going upstairs. Snow let out a deep sigh, finishing her drink so she could help David and Henry.
As Regina walked up the stairs she could hear Emma talking, well reading. She looked into the room since the door was wide open, Emma had her eyes in the book she was reading. She lightly knocked on the door before clearing her throat. Emma looked up from her book, "Nana Gina!" she hopped off her bed and ran to give her grandma a hug.
Regina chuckled as she picked Emma up, "Oh boy, you're getting to be a big girl munchkin. Pretty soon you'll be too tall for me to pick up. How are you?" Emma just shrugged, "Okay I guess. I was just reading to Neal." Regina gave a slight nod, "Mommy and daddy told me about Neal…Do you want to talk about it?" Emma didn't quite understand, "What do you mean? You wanna meet him?" She put Emma down, "Uh sure. Hi Neal." Regina waved to the spot where Emma was originally sitting when she walked in the room. "Nana Gina, what are you doing?" Emma giggled.
Regina raised her brow, "I thought I was saying hello to Neal." Emma covered her mouth as she continued giggling, "He's standing right next to you." Emma pointed and Regina's eyes followed, "Oh, terribly sorry. My eyesight is getting pretty bad. Hello Neal, I'm Nana Gina. It's very nice to meet you." Neal grinned at the greeting and turned to Emma, "She seems nice."
"Yeah, she's really nice." Emma answered him then looked up at Regina, "He says it's nice to meet you too." From experience with Henry, Regina knew how sensitive a child's imagination is. She knew that saying the wrong thing could potentially scar a young child. "So were you and Neal reading before I got here?" The little girl quickly answered, "Yes! He really likes books so we came up here to read."
"Mind if I sit and listen?" Emma looked to her side where Neal was, pausing for a moment while she waited for Neal to answer. "Neal said it's okay." Emma climbed back on her bed and resumed reading. Regina sat in the chair that in at the end of her bed, watching the child closely. As she read, Emma would giggle every so often and it was too cute for Regina to not smile. When she finished the book, Emma quietly closed it and carefully got out of bed.
She held her index finger to her lips as she grabbed Regina's hand and pulled her out of the room, closing the door behind her. Regina was a tad bit confused, "Neal's asleep. We should be quiet." Regina gave Emma a small grin, "Ah I see."
As they walked down the stairs, Snow and David were talking, not aware that their daughter was in the room. "There's something wrong, she sees someone that isn't there, David! That's not normal!" David sighed, "Snow please, I understand and that's why I think we should get her some help."
Emma stared at both her parents, her soft green eyes welling with tears, "What?" It was all she could manage to say only for her parents to turn around, shocked expressions on their faces. Immediately they regretted their choice of words but it was much too late. "Emma, sweetheart, we didn't mean it like that…"
Snow tried to walk toward her daughter but Emma darted toward the door and took off running down the streets of Storybooke. Regina crossed her arms, "Did I not warn you about your choice of words?!" she snarled.
"We made a mistake but to say what she's doing is normal would be a lie, Regina." David piped up.
"She's grieving you idiots! Emma lost her best friend and she's dealing with it the best way she can! She's five for goodness sake and now you may have just ruined what made her special. A child's imagination is sacred." Regina shook her head as she stormed out the door to find Emma, leaving Snow and David to think about what she said. As Regina searched around town, Henry decided to share some knowledge with his family.
"Guys, my mom was a bit harsh but she's right. I had an imaginary friend when I was Emma's age. I didn't really have any friends so I was pretty lonely." Snow softly gasped, "I remember that. And Regina had us treat him like he was real." Henry nodded, "Exactly. And after a while, once I found other things to do, my imaginary friend just disappeared. But mom never crushed my creativity and I thank her for that. She's not the most patient but she tries."
David looked down, Henry was right. "Thanks buddy. We have a huge apology to make to our daughter for thinking and talking like that."
"We messed up…" Snow mentioned quietly.
While the trio finished putting up decorations, Regina spotted a blonde, curly haired little girl sitting on a bench by the docks, crying her little eyes out. She quietly approached her and sat down next to her, "Emma…look at me." Emma uncovered her eyes and looked up, her face wet from tears and her eyes starting to get red.
"They said I wasn't normal…" Emma said in between breaths, her voice still shaky. Regina pulled the little girl into her arms, sitting Emma on her lap, "Hey, your mommy and daddy said some stuff they weren't supposed to but they're right. You aren't normal. But that isn't a bad thing."
Emma rubbed her eyes, "It isn't?" Regina smiled, "Nope. You're very special, you have a powerful imagination and a lot of people don't. You're a one of a kind munchkin, be proud of who you are."
That made Emma smile, "There's that infamous Emma Smile!" Regina scrunched up her nose, softly chuckling. "Now, about Neal…" Emma's smile faded a little, "I miss him a whole lot." "Where did he go?" Emma sighed, "He told me that it was his time to go but that he'd always be in my heart. Neal gave me this on my fourth birthday." Emma pointed to the necklace she had around her neck.
"He said whenever I get sad all I have to do is look down at it and I'll remember that he's always with me." Regina was taken by surprise at Emma's words. "So you understand that Neal's not physically here anymore?" Emma grinned, "He's in heaven now. He said I'll see him again one day." "That's right munchkin. One day you will. Now why don't we you home so you can talk to your parents and we can help get ready for your party tomorrow?"
Regina stood up, letting Emma down off her lap, "Okay, but I'm still not drinking that milk." Regina let out an unintentional laugh, "Deal munchkin."
A/N: So this is an AU One Shot, I was given the idea to write about one of the characters having an imaginary friend but it ended up taking a slightly different route lol Coming from someone who had an imaginary friend as a child, my mom didn't give a negative reaction to it. She let me have my imagination just as long as I didn't cause trouble. Creativity comes in all forms, don't take someone else's sparkle from their eyes.