Merry Christmas JustMeandMyKeyboard! I'm your Charming Family Secret Santa.
Your prompt was: Emma drives herself crazy to pick out the perfect gift for her parents. Thinking she's found it, she risks sneaking out in the worst snowstorm the east coast has seen in years...promptly getting stuck in her bug in the freezing cold of a December night. Snowing to the rescue!
I hope you enjoy what I came up with! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
The Best Gift is You
It had finally happened. Storybrooke was in a state of non crisis. There were no curses this year or snow monsters to vanquish. Gold hadn't cause a lick of trouble since the final battle ended and there were no other villains stomping around trying to wreck havoc. No Evil Queen, no Hyde, no Cruella De Vil and no Hades. Just peace. Peace at last and a bit of normal in a not so normal town.
Despite David's lamentation that a Thanksgiving dinner with this large extended family might, quote, suck, it was actually quite pleasant. They had celebrated with a large dinner at the Charming farmhouse with both the Mills and Golds in attendance.
It had been the absolute best Thanksgiving Emma had ever experienced for sure, especially since most of her Thanksgiving dinners before Storybrooke involved pop-tarts and sodas. Even after she got out of prison and started making a good living as a bail bonds person, she hadn't bothered with more than Chinese takeout on the big Turkey day.
Going from that to this large family gathering was a bit intimidating sometimes, but with all the danger around them swept away and her acceptance of her parents, it had been a Thanksgiving like she used to dream of when she was a kid; the kind you only saw on Television. Only this was much better. And it only got better as the Christmas season began. The day after Thanksgiving, Emma began thinking about what to get her parents for Christmas. They were going all out of course with decorations and Christmas shopping. She wondered if it was a good or bad thing that she had introduced them to online shopping.
The digital camera she had urged her father to buy her mother for their anniversary was working overtime, but at least it made her stop using the Polaroid. She often teased her about how she and Neal were going to go blind from all the flashing. But it made her wish she could give her parents things from her childhood. That's when she wondered if it was more possible to get some of those thought to be lost mementos, after all. This was the age of the Internet, after all, as she was fond of reminding her parents.
She started first by contacting the first group home she had been in after her first family had given her up when she was three. She got the run around at first and after calling for a straight week, someone finally took pity on her and agreed to speak with her.
She learned that her social worker might the only one to have anything or know what became of any of her personal items. She knew anything she made in school or projects were gone. But there was a chance, however slim, that a few baby items might have survived somewhere.
Unfortunately, her social worker was retired now, but thanks to the Internet, Emma found her. She was still living in Boston and agreed to meet with Emma at a restaurant in Boston. The day before Christmas Eve, it was all planned. Emma told her parents she was making a quick day trip to Boston, under the guise that she was getting something special for Henry. They offered to go with her, but she told them she'd be fine. Her father warned her that the weather might not hold out, as a storm system was moving in, but she insisted that she'd be back long before the storm hit. Emma Swan had faced the worst of villains, so she was determined that a snow storm wasn't going to stop her.
She arrived in Boston that day around lunchtime and met with her social worker. She was a nice woman and so Emma was happy to regale her with the information that she had found her birth parents. She modified much of the story for obvious reasons, but told her that they hadn't abandoned her by choice and had done so to save her life. The now elderly woman was extremely happy to hear such, for not many of her cases always had happy endings.
She then apologized to Emma for not having much and despite telling herself not to get her hopes up, she felt her heart sink when only a shoe box was presented to her. It was a miracle that anything survived though and she was trying to calm her emotions, as she opened the shoe box. But her heart instantly lifted at what she saw inside.
They were a bit beat up, but there were a pair of little white baby shoes and a wallet sized baby picture that was still in fairly good condition. And finally, there was a hospital ID bracelet that was a little tattered, but she could still make out the words Baby Emma on it.
"This is perfect...thank you so much," she thanked the woman profusely. They shared a hug and the woman warned Emma that a storm system was moving in. The blonde promised to leave in time to beat it home, but she simply had a few more stops to make before she could head back. One of those stops was at a photo store where they were able to scan her picture, clean it up digitally, and enlarge it. She made an 8x10, a couple 5x7 sized ones, and several 4x6 sized ones as well. They even had the option of making magnets and mugs. Emma couldn't resist and had them pull a picture of Neal from her phone as well, so she could put them both on mugs, magnets, and key chains for her parents. She paid for all her pictures and merchandise, before climbing back into the bug.
She still had to clean up the baby shoes and bronze them. Normally bronzing baby shoes involved sending them away for weeks to get them done, but she would be able to do that herself when she got home to Storybrooke with a little magic. So it was time to finally head back.
She ran by a coffee shop for a quick coffee for the road and began the four hour drive home to Storybrooke. She was so excited that she had the absolute perfect gifts for them that she was blasting Christmas music over the radio the whole way home.
Unfortunately, she probably should have been listening to the forecast, for about two hours in, she ran into the mother of all snow storms.
From then on, it was white knuckle driving along the treacherous highway and the bug was notoriously bad in the snow. Her Dad had been prodding her lately to let him put snow tires on it and she so wished she had let him do so right now. Six hours into what should have been a four hour trip, Emma's bug skidded over the town line. She felt relief, thinking she was home free at this point, but the treachery of the town line would get her as it had so many before. She lost control on a patch of black ice and skidded into the ditch. She banged her head on the steering wheel and her vision swam, as she raised her hand. But the sparks of magic only fizzled, for it was impossible for her to make her magic cooperate without a clear head. So she turned to technology next and found her phone, with no signal of course.
"Dammit…" she cursed, as she huddled in the cold bug. She had two options now. Walk home in the blustering storm or stay in the bug and wait to be found.
Snow gazed out the window, watching the fierce snow storm batter their town with worry in her eyes. Emma was two hours late...two hours and Snow's mind was a flurry of horrible scenarios and worry for her daughter.
"David…" she called back. He had nearly paced a hole in the floor himself.
"I know...she should have been home by now. I'm going to find her," he finally decided, as he grabbed his coat. Snow wanted to go too, but one of them had to stay with Neal and David's truck did the best in the snow.
"Come on Wilby," he called, as the dog to his side and Snow kissed him tenderly.
"I'll find her, Snow," he promised and she watched helplessly, as he ventured out into the raging storm. Neal cooed at her, as he gummed his teething ring.
"Daddy will find Emma, sweetheart. He'll find her," she promised, as she cuddled her baby close.
Emma tried turning the key again, but the engine refused to turn over.
"Oh dammit...dammit...dammit…" she cursed, as she smacked the steering wheel. She got out of the car and stomped around in the snow, as she tried to decide what to do. She was freezing already and knew she should stay where she was, but she just wanted to get home so badly. She climbed around the snow packed bug to try and get the box in the back to take with her when she felt a pain in her ankle.
"Ow…" she cried, as looked down and saw that she was caught between the car and some icy covered snow.
"Ouch...dammit, this night couldn't get any worse!" she cried, as she tried to free her ankle and started to sniff, as she realized she was stuck in the snow outside her car. She wasn't someone who cried, but since the moment she hit the town line, nothing had gone right. She should have known though that the family motto would lead her father right to her, but she was still surprised when she saw his truck roll up.
"Emma!" he called.
"Dad…" she cried in relief, as he climbed down into the ditch.
"Oh Emma...do you have any idea how worried we were?" he said, as he hugged her tightly and cradled her head. She sighed in relief, as she hugged him back.
"I'm sorry...I really thought I could beat the storm. It was stupid," she sniffed. He smiled and wiped a few of her tears away.
"No...you're not stupid and I'm just so glad you're okay. Your mother is pacing a hole in the floor at home," he said, as he gently freed her ankle.
"Looks like we better go to the hospital and have your ankle looked at," he mentioned.
"No...please Dad, I just want to go home," she pleaded.
"Emma…" he started to scold.
"Really...I think it's only twisted. I'm sure Mom has all the stuff to treat it and you know how much she will love to fuss over me," she reasoned. He sighed.
"Okay...but if we find out it's broken, you're going to the hospital immediately," he relented, as he lifted her into his arms and climbed out of the ditch.
"Oh no...there's a box I need in the backseat," she cried, as he put her in the truck.
"I'm having Mr. Tillman tow the bug out of the ditch. We can get it tomorrow, I promise," he replied.
"But...it has the most perfect gift for you and Mom in it," she lamented.
"Oh princess...don't you know by now?" he asked.
"Know what?" she grumbled.
"You're the most perfect gift we could ever have," he replied, as he kissed her forehead. She sniffed, as he got into the truck and slowly drove them home.
When her father carried her into the house, the relief on her mother's face was palpable and she immediately started fussing, just as Emma knew she would. Her father took Neal and put him in his swing, while Snow went about getting her wet coat off and started wrapping her ankle. David got her some aspirin for her headache. She let it slip that she bumped her head, but since she didn't have any nausea or other symptoms, they were pretty sure she didn't have a concussion.
After her mother was done, she wrapped a blanket around her daughter's shoulders and her father served them all hot cocoa.
"I'm sorry guys...I shouldn't have tried to beat the storm," she said.
"Why did you go to Boston today?" Snow asked curiously.
"Because I needed to find the perfect gift for you and Dad. And I did...it's in the bug," she replied.
"Oh Emma...I'm sure whatever you got us is lovely, but you're our true gift. We only just found you and we can't lose you again," Snow said.
"I know...I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking," Emma replied.
"Honey, you don't have to apologize. We're just glad you're okay," Snow said, as she hugged her daughter again and Charming kissed her hair.
"I love you guys," she said.
"We love you too, Princess. Having you with us for Christmas is the best gift we could ever get," he replied.
With the help of Henry, the next day, he was able to go get the box out of the bug for her, since Snow refused to let her lift a finger, never mind actually leaving the house. Henry brought the box to her and together, they wrapped what she had brought back from Boston.
"You know, you're going to make them cry, right?" he asked, as he looked at the little booties. She smiled.
"That's the plan," she replied, as they finished wrapping and put them under the tree.
Christmas Eve night came quickly and the Charming Mills clan gathered for a Christmas eve potluck of Regina's famous lasagna, Snow's wonderful cheddar broccoli soup, and David's amazing Christmas cookies, a recipe his mother had made when they had the money for the ingredients. Emma contributed the eggnog and made the hot cocoa with cinnamon, while Zelena made an assortment of delicious finger foods.
After they were all stuffed and content, they gathered around the living room to exchange gifts. Emma could barely pay attention to her gifts though when her parents got to the one addressed to them both from her.
"Is this the gift you went to Boston for?" Snow asked. She simply nodded and watched impatiently, as they tore the paper together. They smiled at each other and opened the box, as they peered inside. Their faces went slack and their eyes went wide, as Snow pulled out the tiny little booties and Charming picked up the little hospital bracelet.
"Emma...these were yours when you were a baby?" Snow asked in disbelief. She nodded.
"That's why I went to Boston. I met with my old social worker and I'm afraid, not much survived. But the booties, the bracelet, and a small picture did. So I took the picture and had it digitized. They cleaned up the graininess and digitally remastered it. Then I had a bunch of copies made," she said, as she felt the tears gather in her eyes. Her parents were already crying, as they gazed at the photos.
"You...you are beautiful. Just like you were in my vision," David said in awe, as he looked between the picture and their grown daughter.
"Oh...you made mugs and key chains too…" Snow cried. Emma smirked.
"Yeah, you two seem like the types of parents that will put their kids' pictures on any surface available, so I put the squirt on the mugs and key chains too," she replied.
"Oh...I love this. And I love these," Snow said, as she held the booties and one of the mugs.
"Oh Emma...this is all so wonderful," David added, as he kept looking at the baby picture of her in pure awe that only a father could have.
"I love you guys...you're the best parents anyone could ever have. I just wish it hadn't taken so long for us to be together," she said, as she hugged them both and David cradled her head.
"Oh baby...we love you too," Snow cried.
"We wish that too, Princess. But I think we'll be able to make the best of all the years we do have left together," David said wistfully, as he gazed into Snow's misty eyes and then at their daughter. Neal cooed in Snow's arms and Emma leaned over and kissed his little head.
"We have amazing parents, kid. You're going to grow up and have everything I didn't. But that's okay, you know. I'm really glad I found them so they could have you…" she said, as she teared up and they teared up too.
"Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad," she said.
"Merry Christmas Emma," they replied together, as they held their babies close and shared a tender kiss.
It may have taken them a long time to get to this point, but finally being together as a family was well worth the journey.