Coming Home

The Charming family sat around the kitchen table where there was an intense game of monopoly going on. The game was getting to the point where you couldn't go one turn without loosing hundreds of dollars.

"Ha! You landed on my Boardwalk Dad. That will be 600 dollars." Emma said with a smirk. She was in it to win it.

"Oh, just you wait Emma." Snow said with a smirk.

"What is that supposed to mean Mom?"

"Nothing, nothing." Snow said.

"Tell me!" Emma yelled as her eyes narrowed.

"Well it's just that right now your Dad owns all the railroads and you have to make your way around the board again." Snow said, as she looked her daughter straight in the eye.

"She has a point Ma." Henry said.

"Oh, can-it Kid." Emma said as she rolled the dice. She landed right on one of her Dad's railroads.

"Fork it over Emma." Charming said with a Charming smile.

Before Emma could part with the money the doorbell rang interrupting there game.

"I'll get it!" Emma yelled as she jumped up. She didn't want to have to pay her dad for her unfortunate roll.

Emma ran over to the door and slung it open. It was only the mailman.

"Why didn't you just put the mail in the box?" Emma asked.

"Because I have a special delivery for Lt. Emma Swan." He said as he handed her a single envelope. She slowly closed the door. Not wanting to open this in front of her parents, she slipped the envelope into her sweatshirt pocket.

"Who was at the door?" Snow asked as Emma ran back to her spot at the table.

"Just somebody looking for Granny's that's all." Emma said with a tone that said the conversation was finished. Snow knew she was lying. She could always tell when Emma was lying. Her story didn't add up either. Everybody in town knew where Granny's was, and why would they come all the way up to the loft to ask for directions? There were plenty of other apartments close to the bottom.

"I think I'm going to go up to my room. Get an early night." Emma said as she got up and made her way to the stairs. She knew she wasn't fooling anybody, but that letter was burning a hole in her pocket.

Snow looked at Charming as soon as they heard Emma close her door. They had one of their silent conversations. Henry picking up on the discomfort started packing up the game. He knew that they would want to go up and talk to Emma.

Up in Emma's Room

As soon as Emma got to her room she locked the door and sat down on the bed. Quickly grabbing the envelope from her pocket she ripped the letter open and began to read.

"No, no this can't be happening." Emma thought. She read the letter again, and sure enough it said the same thing.

"Why me, why now?" Emma thought as she picked up the nearest thing to her and chucked it against the door. When she heard a shattering sound she looked to see what she threw. It was a vase of flowers that Killian had got her the other day.

"Who's that screaming?" Emma thought as she looked around for the source of the noise. There was no one else in the room. Who was screaming? That was when she realized she had been screaming. She didn't even realize it, and she couldn't make herself stop either.

"Emma! Are you okay? Open the door!" Charming shouted. Emma stumbled over to the door and leaned against it. Not even caring about the pieces of glass she was sitting in.

"I'm right by the door, don't kick it in." Emma whispered. Snow and Charming could barely hear her response. They quickly sat down on either side of the doorway and leaned their heads against the door.

"Emma, what's wrong." Snow said softly. She knew Emma wasn't going to open the door to talk. Communicating through a closed door was the best she could do.

"I-I have a secret to tell you." Emma stuttered.

"I haven't told anybody in Storybrooke about it, and I wasn't planning on telling anybody either."

"You can tell us anything Emma." Charming said.

"Promise you won't get mad." Emma said as she once again whispered through the door.

"Promise." Both Snow and Charming said at the same time.

"When I got out of jail I didn't have a job. I was living out of my car for weeks. Eventually I had to get a job. I joined the Army three months after Henry was born. After about 3 years of being in the Army I was sent over seas to fight the war against terrorism. I was over there for about a year before it happened. We were ambushed on the way to a safe house. I was the only survivor in my unit. I was promoted and I left to become a bail bonds person." Emma whispered though the door.

"So what got you so upset Emma." Charming asked. Snow shot him a glare for being so blunt, but Emma didn't notice.

"I got a letter from the Army s-saying I have to report for duty in 2 weeks." Emma whispered

"What!" Both of her parents yelled.

"They're going to send me back." Emma said sadly.

"Where are they sending you?" Snow asked.

"They're going to send me over seas." Emma whispered.

TBC

I'll have the next chapter up soon. I plan on having about 3 chapters for this story. Please please review.

FieryFlame12