Chapter 7

I thought it was about time I made Snow into a motherly role. The last chapter was quite long and I know I've spent a while talking about Emma's days at university, but it's relevant, I swear! Remember - the horizontal line indicates when a flashback starts or when we return to the present!


Emma and Neal's relationship became more and more destructive as the first year of university progressed. Of course, they were both too drunk to realise. Neal had abandoned university and managed to find himself a studio apartment in a dodgy neighbourhood, an apartment that Emma spent most of her time in. Emma never questioned where Neal found the money, until one day when he came home with a sports bag full of cash.

"Neal, where the hell did you get that?!" Emma cried, panicked at the thought of what he did to get that much money.

"Emma, calm down," Neal said. He put the bag down and sat next to Emma on the lumpy sofa they both pretended was okay. "I've been doin' some jobs for this guy-"

"What kind of jobs?" Emma cut in. Neal took her hand that was shaking like a leaf.

"Don't be mad," he said. "I've been stealin'." Emma's heart skipped a beat. She knew they'd been rebellious, and it was a rebellion that Emma got off on, but this was breaking the law. "It's okay. Honestly, it's okay. I've never been caught, and I never steal anythin' that's not worth stealin'. I want to make a life for us, and this is the quickest way to do it." He couldn't look her in the eye properly. Instead, he used his hands to stroke parts of Emma that soothed her and made her fall under his charm. "I want a future with you," Neal said as he leant in and kissed her cheek. "Only you, only with you," he kissed her jawline and her neck. Emma didn't like it this time.

"No, Neal," Emma said and she stood up. "This isn't okay. You're breaking the law."

"No, babe, I'm not," Neal said. Emma scoffed in disbelief. "Okay, yeah. But don't act like you ain't done it before." There was clear aggression in his voice. But he was right. Emma did steal.

Growing up without steady money, especially during her teen years, made Emma angry and upset. It was a regular thing for her to go into shops and steal food, pickpocket notes from a passerby, or from the other children she was around.

"See," he said and he took her in his arms. "You get a thrill just as much as me. You want a future, right?" His hands cupped her face. Emma nodded. "Then trust me. I got this." He kissed Emma and waited for her to reciprocate before he pulled her on top of him.

Emma looked over at the bag of money. "How much is in there?"

Neal was unbuttoning her shirt. "Five grand," he muffled in between the kisses he was giving Emma's cleavage.

Five grand from one job? Emma was intrigued. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that Neal was stealing. And he was right, she did want a future with him, and getting money the usual way would take years. The thrill she used to get from stealing returned, and the idea that Neal was doing it to be with her turned her on beyond belief. She grabbed Neal's head and kissed him passionately, their tongues danced. Emma ripped off his top and threw her own on the floor. Neal turned them over so Emma was on the sofa, and he didn't bother removing his jeans or Emma's skirt properly before entering her.


"Who is he?" Snow asked gingerly.

"That's the thing," Emma said. "I met him yesterday." Emma waited for a judgmental look that didn't come. She forgot how Snow never judged anyone.

"He must be pretty special then," she said with her usual kind smile. Emma then told her about their first meeting, their second meeting, his note, the book he bought her. Snow beamed with delight. "He sounds wonderful! What's holding you back?"

Emma took a deep breath. Emma and Snow were close enough to tell each other everything, and Snow did know everything about Emma's history. Snow could read her like a book, and Emma ensured that only Snow could do that. It wasn't something she liked people being able to do. "I don't want him to know about… That," Emma finally said. Snow gripped Emma's hand and squeezed.

"He doesn't need to know on the first date," she said softly.

"But he does need to know!" Emma cried. "He needs to know because it might be the make-or-break thing that sends him packing. If I don't tell him right away, then we'll keep seeing each other and then when I do tell him, I'll have no doubt fallen for him and then he'll leave me and I'll be broken all over again." Emma said this in one breath.

"You thought about that from the moment you saw him, didn't you?" she said. Emma looked at Snow and was grateful for how well she knew her. "Yes," Emma said quietly. "And it's all I've thought about since."

Snow smiled, "it sounds like you've fallen for this guy."

"Yeah," Emma said with a laugh. "Twice!" And soon both girls were in hysterics; a moment they hadn't shared in years.

They laughed and joked until gone midnight. Snow said that she needed to get back, but Emma told her to stay over.

"C'mon, we haven't had a sleepover since my 21st birthday!"

"That wasn't a sleepover!" Snow laughed. "That was the four of us passed out in your bed because we were too drunk to get to our own beds!"

"Please? It's really late, and it'll take you an hour to get back home. Just stay," Emma said, smiling at her best friend.

"Alright, but I'm sharing your bed. I don't trust your sofa bed," Snow said as she walked upstairs.

"Yeah okay, but you'll have to tell Pongo!"


It wasn't until March when Snow decided to step in.

The six of them were at flat 15, having their usual beer and pizza Friday night when Snow heard Emma go into their apartment.

"I'm talking to her," she said as she stood up. David stood too and grabbed her arm.

"Snow, don't!" he said. "Leave her alone, she made her choice."

"Listen to yourself!" Snow cried. "She needs our help! I saw her grades in class, she's barely passing the course. She hasn't turned up for a lecture since before Christmas, and the one did she did she was too drunk to pay attention. This has gone on long enough, she needs an intervention," Snow said sternly. "And more importantly, she's our friend. Whether we've seen her often enough or not, it doesn't matter. She's our friend and she needs our help." And with that, Snow left.

She took a brief pause in the hallway before going into the flat. She decided her best approach was kindness, and then see if Emma will confide in her. She hoped she would, for Snow loved Emma dearly. Their friendship meant a lot to Snow, even though they'd hardly seen each other. In fact, the last time Snow saw Emma properly was before she left for Christmas.

Snow went quietly up the stairs, listening out in case Neal was there. When Snow got to Emma's room, the door was open a crack and Emma had her back facing the door, sat cross legged in the middle of the bed. Snow knocked on the door and walked in.

"Emma, hey!" She said, trying to be more nonchalant than she felt. "We're just at the guys' flat having some beer and pizza if you want to jo-" she stopped talking when she saw what was in Emma's hand. "Is that-?"

"Yep," Emma said through tears. Snow crossed the floor and sat next to Emma. Emma passed her the pregnancy test. It was positive.

"Oh Emma," Snow said, and she threw her arms around Emma. She tried not to act surprised when Emma hugged Snow back. She cried for what seemed like hours, while Snow soothed her by stroking her hair. "It's okay, you'll get through this," Snow kept saying. Eventually Emma calmed down. Snow wiped away her tears. "Have you told Neal?" Emma shook her head. "Is this the first test you've taken?" Emma stood up and Snow could see there were 4 other tests that Emma was sitting on. They all said positive. "Let me ring the doctor for you," Snow said. "We'll go to the doctor and then you can decide if you want to tell Neal. You can decide about the baby as well. Whatever you choose, I'm here for you," Snow said. She squeezed Emma's hand reassuringly and kissed the top of her head.

As Snow left, Emma called after her. "I'm sorry," Emma said through tears. Snow stopped and looked back at Emma. "I'm so sorry, Mary," Emma said.

"I know you are," Snow said with her kind smile. "But there's nothing to forgive." Snow smiled again and left to ring the doctors.

Emma would have felt better if Snow had screamed at her, but having someone that forgiving and understanding was something Emma needed now more than ever.


Having Snow stay over was exactly what Emma needed. She had Aurora and Belle, but despite them all working at the same university, they weren't as close as they used to be. Emma and Snow were best friends and Emma knew that they had been since the first day they met.

Emma woke up to the smell of pancakes and bacon wafting up her nose. Snow was no longer in the bed. Emma rolled over and her alarm clock said 5:46am. Driven by her hunger, Emma pulled herself out of bed, grabbed her baby blue dressing gown and went downstairs. Snow had laid out breakfast on the table: a huge stack of pancakes, a pile of crispy bacon, a pot of tea, two teacups, a bottle of orange juice, and a jug of water. Emma smiled when she saw the Snow had used Emma's favourite dinner set. She had her every day one, which was plain white, but Snow bought Emma a beautiful spotted dinner set when Emma moved into her first flat.

"Morning!" Snow said. Emma forgot how chipper she was in the mornings. The radio was playing smooth country music in the background.

"Hey," Emma said, sitting down. "You didn't have to do all of this," she said, gesturing at the amount of food.

"I know I didn't have to," Snow poured tea into Emma's tea cup. "But I wanted to, as a thank you," she placed three pancakes onto Emma's plate and about 5 pieces of bacon. "It's been ages since I've been able to cook for you, and I won't be robbed of the chance!" Snow filled a small glass with orange juice and gave it to Emma. She then sat down and sorted out her own breakfast. The two ate their first pancake in silence. As Snow picked up her tea cup to drink, she said, "so are you going to call him?" Emma glanced at Snow.

"Oh right," Emma said, completely off guard. "I think I should. Well I want to. But I don't know." She put down her cutlery and placed her hands in her lap. "He's gorgeous. He's charming, he's romantic, and fate has brought us together twice. Once on my commute and once in my favourite bookshop. I mean, even you don't know where it is!"

"I know where it is, I just don't go there," Snow corrected. "It's your special place and I'm not going to intrude." She gave Emma one of her signature 'mother' looks.

"Okay, but still. I can't help but feel like it was meant to happen that way. I want to get to know him," Emma was finally getting somewhere with the conflicting thoughts in her brain.

"What's really holding you back, Emma?" Snow surveyed her. "I know you want to make excuses, you can make excuses until the end of time, but that's not what's holding you back. That's your cover up for what's really the problem. Just tell me."

Emma took several deep breaths before she answered. "I don't want another child."

There was a moment of intense silence where neither knew what to say. The silence broke when Snow's phone rang. Emma nodded to say it was okay to answer.

"Hello? Yeah I'm still here. No, everything's okay. She just needed to see me. No everything's fine. David, she has work soon. No, David!" He hung up. "David's on his way over. I'm sorry, Emma, he just worries about you," Snow said as she placed an apologetic hand on Emma's forearm.

Emma gently squeezed Snow's hand. "It's okay, I'd like to see him. Maybe it'll help talking to you both about this," Emma said with a smile.

Snow changed the subject to talking about Emma's job, and Emma was more than happy to talk about something other than Killian. She told Snow about her favourite subjects, the students she liked the best, the presents she'd been given as a thank you. Snow could see how passionate Emma was about her job and was thankful that Emma was on the right track in her life. She cleared away the breakfast once they'd finished eating, overjoyed that Emma could not stop talking about work. Emma told her about the few times she'd seen Aurora and Belle and how they'd sometimes meet for lunch and a few times they'd had a heavy night at the SU bar. Seeing Emma have a passion in life made Snow so proud.

It was 6:30am when David arrived. David gave Emma the biggest hug she'd ever received; it was as if they hadn't seen each other in years. The reality was that it had been about 3 years, but it felt like it had been longer. David cupped Emma's face in his hands and asked, "are you alright?" Emma nodded, and she wasn't lying. Having Snow and David around made her happy beyond belief. It was like old times.

They all sat on the sofa and Emma relayed everything that she told Snow. She spoke about how she and Killian met, her worries and fears, and more importantly, she told David her real reason for not wanting to ask out Killian. "I know it sounds silly to think such a thing. We met yesterday, and I feel stupid to be thinking about our future, but there's something about him that's making me want to think like this. I don't want us to end up together and then for things to get serious between us and I drop the baby bombshell. I'm not ready to get my heart broken again." Emma was completely out of her comfort zone by asking Snow to come over so they could talk, but as Emma talked, she realised how comfortable she was around Snow and David. It was like they were the parents she didn't know she had.

David held Emma's hand and said, "if you're not taking a chance, you're not progressing in life. You can't just throw your hands up in the arm and surrender. The fact you're this worried about your future with him means that you want one. Take a chance. You'll regret it otherwise." He was right. She thought back to how annoyed she was at herself for not getting Killian's number after having a 30 second long conversation with him. Imagine how much regret she would be filled with if she didn't give them a chance.

"Okay," Emma said with a smile. "I'll do it." Snow clapped her hands together excitedly. She went upstairs to her room and dialled Killian's number. She took a deep breath and called. It rang twice before he answered.

"Hello?" Emma got butterflies at the sound of his voice.

"Killian, it's Emma."

"Aye, lass, I wondered when you would ring," his tone changed; it was happier than when he first answered.

"Erm, are you doing anything tonight?" Emma was shaking with nerves.

"Aye, unfortunately I've got to work. My boss gave me a case to look through and I can't be certain when I will be finished."

Emma was deeply disappointed, but she didn't let it distract her. "That's a shame. What do you do for a living?"

"So pertinent a question, so early in the conversation, Miss Emma. It's only 7am," Emma giggled at his flirtatious tone.

"7am? Holy crap, I'm late! I should have left by now!" Emma was starting to panic. "Killian, I'm sorry but I've got to go. But if you finish that report, give me a call."

"I would despair if I hesitated for even a second. Goodbye love, I'll see you soon."

Emma didn't have time to think about how disappointed she was. "Snow! I'm late for work!" She called down the stairs. Going into her wardrobe, she grabbed the first clothes she could find; a black tube skirt, black tights, brown ankle boots, cream cable knit jumper, and a green and blue plaid shirt. Emma brushed her teeth and grabbed her phone, make up bag and handbag and ran down the stairs.

"Snow, I've got to go to work," Emma said, her mouth full of toothpaste and salvia. "Can you lock up for me?" She spit in the kitchen sink.

"Yes of course, what about Pongo?"

"Drop him off at Ruby's. Do you remember Ruby? She lives next door, the one with the bright red front door." Emma ran her fingers through her hair, and flipped it to see if it would make any difference. It didn't. Emma groaned in annoyance.

"Emma, you look great. Stop worrying. We'll lock up, just get to work!" David exclaimed.

"Thank you guys!" She kissed Snow and David on the cheek, gave Pongo a kiss on the head before running out the door.

Emma ran to the station and just about made her train. She got out her phone and text Snow to say thank you for everything, and that she'll see her tomorrow night at the restaurant. Emma just about managed to finish her makeup by the time they arrived at London Liverpool Street. She was now on time and decided to get a cup of coffee. The queue was long and the woman took ages to make her drink and so by the time Emma had paid and had her coffee in hand, she had 3 minutes to get to the Circle line before she would miss the train.

"Oh fuck," Emma exclaimed. She grabbed her Oyster card and ran through the station, dodging wheelchairs, prams and lost tourists. her bag got caught in the barrier but luckily she was rescued by a guy that worked at the Underground. Emma ran down the stairs, and just made it through the doors of the train before it shut. She then turned around to find a seat when she crashed into someone at such force that her coffee cup split open and soaked them both.

"We really have to stop meeting like this," a familiar voice said. As usual, Killian was right there at an embarrassing moment.

I can't catch a break, Emma thought.