You'll Always Be My Baby
Summary: Magic befalls Emma and turns her into a small child. Her parents are not sure how to deal with this new situation. Charming family fluff. Right after 2x22.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: The idea for this story wouldn't go away so I thought I'd just write it. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but that didn't happen for some reason. Hope you guys like it!
The sun was about to set and Snow lost herself in the soft orange sky on the horizon. The colors had never been as bright in Storybrooke as they were here over the ocean. Colors were different in the Enchanted Forest and any land that was touched by magic. As soon as they found Henry, she would show him and Emma the beauty of the land they both originated from. Deep in her heart Snow knew they would find Henry. They would always find each other. She had tried to tell Emma the same, but she wasn't ready to believe quite yet. With her there would always be a grain of fear, of distrust. It was up to her and Charming to teach her all about it.
"There you are." Charming whispered and engulfed her in his arms. She immediately relaxed against him and closed her eyes. How had she lived without him – without this – for 28 years? Now the woman responsible for all the time lost was with them on this ship. More than that; she was family.
"You know, the colors are different here."
He was quiet for a moment and just followed her eyes, her track of thoughts. Charming had never really looked at the colors here or anywhere. All he knew was that life was so much darker without her in it. Without Snow, there had never been any colors to see; only black emptiness. He had come close to losing her and Emma again. His heart beat for them, for his family. He'd go anyway, find them any place. But he was getting tired of being separated from them. Maybe it was their fate, but all he wanted was to be with them as a family.
"I never noticed, but I think you're right. We have to show Emma." An instant later, he realized what he just said. Sometimes he just forgot; forgot that their daughter was a grown woman, who didn't need to be shown bright colors in the sky. He wanted to show them to her, to see the child inside of her. They had missed so much and it was the one thing they never could get back. Charming wasn't great with loss; the past still haunted him. And he was determined not to let it repeat itself. Emma and Henry had lost so many years together and he would bring his grandson back. They would find him, because that was their fate as well.
"Where is Emma anyway?" Snow asked. She hadn't seen her daughter in a while. In her own words she'd told them to leave her alone. While Snow would have gladly comforted her, she knew she still needed to deal with things on her own from time to time.
"I hope that Hook character leaves her alone." Charming mumbled angrily as he followed his wife to check on their daughter. Snow couldn't help but chuckle. Couldn't all their problems be as mundane as Charming not approving of a guy interested in Emma? She stopped him and put her arms around his neck. Maybe somewhere along the line this could be their reality. No more running and having to find each other.
"Let's concentrate on finding-" Snow was cut off by a loud, shrill scream. The couple startled and immediately started towards the noise. It had sounded like a child. As far as they were concerned, there were no children on the ship. Charming yanked open the door to the room they'd last seen Emma in. Suddenly, Snow had a strange feeling.
"What the…" Charming stopped dead in his tracks. Snow, right behind him, crashed into his back. In the middle of the room stood a small girl, stark naked and crying softly.
"Give me your jacket." Snow whispered. Charming didn't react right away; somehow the child seemed so familiar, but why would he know her? Finally, he easily slipped out of his jacket and Snow used it to gently cover the girl up. She crouched down to the child's eye level.
"Hey there, what's your name?" The girl looked at her with big eyes and trembling lips, but she didn't say a word. Snow guessed she was about three or four years old; maybe she had never learned how to talk. Her heart broke as she looked at the lost child. There was something about her eyes; they were big and a distinct color. These eyes… they were just too familiar. She had come to know these eyes and suddenly she realized just who this child was.
"No…" She whispered. "Emma?" Behind her, Charming gasped. He was next to her in an instant. The girl looked up at him and she sobbed gut-wrenchingly.
"It can't be her." He said, his own words choked.
"Honey, can you talk?" The girl nodded.
"I'm Emma." The girl said in a small, childish voice that still sounded uncertain with words, "I have no mommy or daddy." Words that settled in Snow like a heavy burden. Her own eyes filled with tears she felt too weak to control. She let them fall, didn't have a chance not to. Beside her, Charming touched her shoulder. She didn't need to see his face to know he was crying, too. This was too powerful, too surreal.
"How- how old are you? Do you know?" It was Charming who found his voice first. Snow had so many questions; inquiries a child could never answer or even understand.
"I'm almost four." Little Emma whispered as if it were a secret. She just stared at them, unafraid of who they were. Snow wanted to believe that it was because she trusted them, but she didn't know what kind of curse this was. It seemed to have ripped Emma not only of her age, but of her memories, too.
"Did your parents leave you here?" She asked with a heavy voice. They were her parents after all. Many years ago this had been the Emma they knew today. A small girl who couldn't understand why people left her and why, seemingly in this cold world, no one loved her. A girl who thought her parents didn't want her.
"I-I-I don't emember." Snow and Charming exchanged a sad look. They had to find out what had happened to their daughter. Their grown-up daughter. They shouldn't have let her alone, even if Regina and Gold couldn't be interested in turning Emma into a child. However, the number of suspects on this ship was eerily small.
"Emma," the girl's eyes seemed to grow even wider. Snow thought she would drown in them. How often had she wondered what she had been like as a small child? How often had she hoped to just spend time with her daughter when she was still just that – a child? It was a dream come true. Only it felt like a nightmare. One she still hoped to wake up from. But the eyes, they kept staring at her.
"My name is Mary Margaret and this is my husband, David."
"Hi." Little Emma said shyly. She looked at them intensely; almost as if she remembered who they were. Snow expected to wake up any moment. This couldn't be real.
"I like you." Emma said without hesitation. She tugged on the leather jacket around her and Snow realized they had to get her some clothes that fitted her. But first of all they had to find out what had happened – and what the consequences were. Snow felt bitter anger bubble up inside of her. Whoever had done this to her daughter would have to explain themselves.
"How about you come with us and we'll see if we can find some real clothes for you?" Charming seemed to have overcome his own shock. His voice was soft and Snow was amazed how trusting this young version of her daughter was.
"I like this." Emma said and caressed the soft leather jacket. The proud smile on Charming's face almost broke Snow's heart.
"You can keep it, but we should find you something else, too." The little girl nodded and looked up at him. 'She wants to be picked up', Snow thought. A moment later, Charming understood as well. With a look of disbelief, he turned to his wife. She smiled at him. All of this could be a dream, she reminded herself. Maybe she had ingested something that had provoked hallucinations.
Carefully, Charming picked her up. He was surprised how light she was. He, too, couldn't bring together his grown up daughter with this small child he had never gotten to know. In that moment he fell in love with her all over again. The first time had been right after her birth. Then for the second time when she found them and now…this moment made up for the past they'd never shared.
"Let's find Gold. Somehow I think he's to blame for… this." Snow said and Charming nodded. They both looked at their small daughter and even though they knew this wasn't right, they both couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness. A sense of having found something they thought they'd lost forever.
TBC