A/N: Title comes from the band Simply Red's 1986 song of the same name. This may not be my best work, but I was curious about this situation after a recent re-watch of the first six seasons.
What could you say to a man who hasn't been around for eleven years? Emma wondered the same thing as she tapped her pencil's eraser against the desk nervously. Even after promising to write, she couldn't bring herself to find anything to say.
What was there to say? It didn't seem practical to explain her entire life from the second heleft until now. There was too much to say, and not enough time. Emma did have a life to attend to, after all.
Emma stared at the blank page, waiting for some inspiration to strike. Nothing came to mind. She continued to stare at the blank page; acting as if staring intently enough would maybe make writing to her birth father easier.
What if I can't find anything to say? What if I never find the words? What if the letter gets lost in the mail? What if-?
She took a deep breath, knowing that she couldn't let the unknown of her father's response scare her. It now or never!
Dear Dad…
"No, no, no!" Emma muttered, crossing out the two words with an unexpected vigor.
Hey Daddy!
Emma crossed out that, too. It didn't feel in character for Emma to so casually refer to someone in such a cutesy way. Besides, she wasn't a baby anymore, and using such childish language seemed forced on her end.
Instead of agonizing over how she would greet him in this letter, she cut to the chase and started writing her letter as if she were to write an essay. Emma mainly wrote about the good times she had. Emma thought it would be nice to include some of her life with Mom, too. He deserved to know.
She talked of the times she was a little girl and loved going on the swings in the park and of her friends at school, among other positive things in her life she could think up of off the top of her head. Mentioning anything negative would confuse him or worse, worry or confuse him. It was best to keep it simple and happy. That's what he deserved to hear.
She folded it up neatly in a fully stamped, addressed envelope and sent it out the next day. Emma never heard back from her dad for reasons she couldn't even imagine, and that was okay. It was probably for the best, anyway.