AN: Sadly, I own nothing but the order of the words upon this page. Emma's thinking about Henry. One shot.
"You don't play with a curse."
She'd never tell Henry, but Emma's a little afraid of fairy tales. There are monsters, and dark magic, and creepy witches, and evil spells, and bad health care, and no technology. There are things she can't control and doesn't understand. And, again, monsters. Real ones. The familiar pain of not being wanted is greatly preferable to the fear of the unknown. Still, she plays along because Henry does want her, and she can't abandon him again, no matter how much his book terrifies her.
"Who will protect Henry, if you won't?"
She knows heroes are supposed to be brave, but she worries she isn't brave enough. She's never had a real family, or even close friends. She's never been loved, unconditionally. She's afraid of being hurt, even more than she's afraid of his fairy tales, and almost as much as she's afraid of hurting Henry. She doesn't know how to love him, but knows that she does. Still, she keeps it to herself because that, too, frightens her.
"I want to show him that a hero can win, and if I'm not a hero and I'm not the savior, then what part do I have in his life?"
She's never changed a diaper or rocked a baby to sleep. She's never read a bedtime story or tucked anyone in. She's never put a band-aid on someone else's scraped knee, nor kissed the tears away. She's never packed a lunchbox, and walked someone to class on the first day of school. She's not his mom and doesn't know how she fits. Still, she stays because he asked her to, and because part of her kind of wants to be his mom.
"You may have given birth to him, but he is my son."
She knows he's not her kid; she didn't even name him. She doesn't know what it's like to have one person who wants to be her mom, let alone two, as Henry does. She can't give him everything that Regina can. Still, she sticks around because she can give him everything that Regina can't.
"You can do whatever you want. You're the savior."
She doesn't know how to wield a sword or slay a fire-breathing (or any other kind of) dragon. She knows nothing of magic, or potions, or fairy dust, or deals made in dark forests with ill-intentioned imps. She doesn't know the difference between an ogre and a troll, or even if there is one. She's never ridden a horse, white or otherwise. She knows that she's conflicted, and that conflicted heroes often walk alone, and this is a disquieting thought. Still, she tries to be his hero because she never had one.
"You're going to bring back the happy endings."
Emma Swan doesn't believe in fairy tales or happy endings, only the least unhappy ones. She doesn't think that Mary Margaret is her mom, but bites her tongue because Henry believes she is. She believes that Henry's theory invalidates her anger, her life spent searching. No one has ever believed in Emma. Still, she fights for Henry, and with Henry, because Henry believes in her.
And maybe, just maybe, that's her happy ending.