Emma Swan sat on the couch, watching her mother rock and sooth baby Neal to sleep. She could feel the jealousy creeping up under her skin, and started to get frustrated. She was 30 years old, damnit. She shouldn't be getting jealous because her baby brother got cuddled by their mother and she never got to. She shouldn't care that he was barely 3 months old and already had a closer relationship with their mother had than she could ever have, None the less, she still felt the green-eyed monster come out.
Emma suddenly stood up angrily.
"Emma, is everything alright?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine mom," Emma said unconvincingly. She had only recently started calling David and Mary Margaret Mom and Dad, and it made both of the parents' hearts flutter whenever they heard it. "I uh… I have a headache. I'm going to go lie down in my room for a bit."
Mary Margaret looked unconvinced. "Okay," she said hesitantly. "I hope you feel better."
Emma nodded and made her way up to her room.
When she got there, she flopped onto her bed with an angry sigh as she felt tears building up in her eyes. Why was she so affected by this? She angrily rubbed at her eyes, not wanting to cry over something she thought was so stupid. That didn't stop a few tears from falling, though.
A few minutes after Emma had gone upstairs, Neal had finally settled down to sleep. Mary Margaret placed him in his crib, and after she made sure he was all tucked in, the mother grabbed the baby monitor and made her way to Emma's room.
Mary Margaret approached the semi-opened door, and knocked on it gently before opening the door all the way. The sight that met her eyes broke her heart. Emma lay on her bed, curled up with a blanket crying.
"Oh, Emma," Emma sighed. She immediately went over to the bed and took a seat next to Emma. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
Emma looked up, surprised. She was so caught up in her own head that she didn't even hear Mary Margaret come in. She suddenly felt ashamed of herself. "Nothing," she said, pushing herself to sit up. "It's nothing, I'm fine." Emma wiped the tears from her cheeks.
Mary Margaret took one of Emma's hands into her own. "There must be something is it's got you so worked up. You can tell me anything, Emma, you know that."
"Emma took her hand out of Mary Margaret's and looked down at her lap. "It's stupid, really," she mumbled out.
Mary Margaret put a hand under her daughter's chin and forced her to look up. "Emma, I'm sure it's not stupid. You can tell me, I want to make it better."
At her words, Emma started crying again, and her mother was quick to wipe the fresh tears away. "I'm jealous," Emma mumbled.
"Jealous? Of what?" Mary Margaret asked, confused.
"Of Neal," Emma said, feeling even more ashamed of herself. "He gets to cuddle with you, and be held by you, and I never got that when I was younger. I never got to be close with you like he is. I'm just… I don't know, I told you it was stupid."
Mary Margaret's heart broke. She looked right into Emma's eyes. "Emma, it is not stupid. It's perfectly OK for you to feel this way." Mary Margaret shifted, moving to put her legs on the bed and leaned her back against the headboard. "Come on," she said, opening her arms.
Emma blushed. "Mom, you don't have to… it's really okay, it's just a stupid little thing."
"You aren't the only one who missed out on cuddling and being held. This is as much for me as it is for you. Come here."
Emma sighed and shifter over to her mom. She hesitantly laid down next to her, laying her head on the woman's chest. She felt her mother wrap her arms tightly around her, and Emma closed her eyes in contentment.
Mary Margaret smiled as she felt Emma's arms snake around her waist. "Now you listen to me, Emma Swan. We missed out on so many things together, but I am all for making it up with you. Don't you ever feel ashamed to ask for a hug, or a cuddle, or anything else. I am you mother, it's my job to give you a hug when you need it."
Emma kept shifting closer and closer to Mary Margaret, until she was practically laying on top of her. She didn't expect to feel this warm and safe in her mother's arms, and was trying to soak it all up.
"I love you so much, Emma. More than you could ever know." Mary Margaret kissed Emma on the top of her head, and then rested her cheek against it.
"I love you too, Momma. Thank you."
Later, when David came back from taking Henry to the park to play baseball, he found his two girls snuggled up together, sleeping on Emma's bed, each with content smiles on their faces. They were holding onto each other like they were never going to let go, and David smiled because he knew that they never would.