"Honey, you've been in bed for two days," Snow informed Emma, feeling her forehead for a temperature.

"What?" Emma mumbled. Everything looked brighter than it should have been, and her mother's hand on her forehead felt like ice.

"Close your eyes, rest," Snow told her, shooting her that trademark sympathetic smile.

Two days? She had been in bed for two days? What the hell had happened? All she remembered was David, Neal, rose petals, something about apologizing and-

A baby. Emma Swan was going to have a baby. Like it didn't scar her enough the first time.

Not that she didn't love Henry, because she did. She just-

"Emma, blink. Do something. Don't just stare past me like you've seen a ghost. You're worrying me."

She had a reason to be worried.

"Mom I- I'm sorry," Emma whispered, closing her eyes.

"It's okay, sweetie." Snow said, making her way to the door.

Emma felt like her 18 year old self all over again. She felt scared, hurt, alone. She felt like she wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility. She barely knew how to take care of Henry, and at this point, he didn't even need taking care of anymore, really. He had much more faith than
her, and much more mental strength, even. And now she didn't know how she was going to
take care of a baby, because she never had.

She needed someone, badly. Emma's phone sat on the night stand but she couldn't manage to pick it up. Maybe Neal had tried to text her or call her. But she had nothing to tell him, he already knew it all.

Yet he had still left. She had never felt this horrible. Not ever.

xxx

Neal's first reaction was to call his father. But then his better judgment returned to him. His father was the last person he should call. Neal had pretty much concluded that this whole "coward" thing was hereditary. So, that was out of the question.

The next person he had considered was David. But on a serious note, David was probably figuring out a way to track his steps so that he could hunt him down and kill him. Neal had made a big mistake hurting Prince Charming's daughter a second time, and calling David for advice was only going to bring the date of his death closer. The whole "coward" thing had kicked in again.

The third person on his list was Hook. He was last resort, and this was low even for Neal. Hook was a ladies man, something Neal couldn't deny. But he had also tried some of his special tricks on Emma, and Neal didn't even want to think about that. Not to mention the fact that Hook would probably use their little "heart to heart" as a way to get to Emma. If he found out she was hurting, he would go right to her, and Neal was steering clear of that.

And then it came to him. Archie. He'd never talked to him, never met then man even. But if this guy could get Regina to level out, he was counting on the man to get him to do the same.

"Hey, Dr. Hopper. I'd uh- I'd like to schedule an appointment with you."

xxx

"How's she doing?" Charming asked, as he sipped his hot chocolate with cinnamon. Every Wednesday night Emma would accompany him on the sofa for hot chocolate with cinnamon. It was kind of a bonding thing they had started after Neverland. But tonight was different, he missed her presence.

"She's burning up, and her face is so pale," Snow said as she started to pace the room. "But she
hasn't showed any signs of being sick."

"I just wish I knew what was going through that thick skull of hers. Whatever it is, she needs to stop bottling it up before it drives her insane. I mean, you should of seen her the other day, Snow. She was on the floor in the police station, mumbling words that don't exist. And now
she isn't leaving her bed. You have to try and talk to her."

Charming and Snow shared the same pained expression and the same shaky voices. They were trying to be brave for their daughter, but they didn't know how. They had been parents for
what, ten minutes now? They didn't know how to be everything she needed, but they were
doing the best they could.

"Snow, Please," Charming begged, holding out Emma's hot chocolate.

"Fine," She gave in, taking the mug in her hands. "I'll do the best I can. But I know what it's like
to not want to talk about something. I won't force it."

Charming sighed in relief, but he wasn't calm yet. He didn't care if Emma didn't talk about it today, tomorrow, or next year. But he needed to see her being herself again.

Neal was going to pay for the pain he caused.

xxx

Neal wasn't too thrilled about his therapy sessions. He was going to have to go to Storybrooke
at least three times a week, if not more. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday were his scheduled days, but Archie had told him that if he needed extra time he could stop by whenever he felt
the need.

How he was going to avoid Emma and the Charming clan, he wasn't quite sure. Not to mention he probably needed to avoid Regina as well, and Hook. And just about everyone in
Storybrooke besides Dr. Hopper.

Great.

He wanted to go. He had to go. He needed to talk to someone about his daddy issues before
his own got worse. He wanted to get back to Emma, and Henry, and their baby as soon as possible. The thought of their baby was pretty much ripping his heart out. He didn't want
Emma to go through any of this alone, and she wouldn't. Her parents would be there, Henry would be there. Maybe she didn't need him there.

But he needed to be there.

xxx

Her stomach dropped at the sound of a knock on her door. She didn't want to see anyone, but she didn't want to be alone, either.

It was Snow.

"Come in," She said, her voice tired and quiet.

"Hey, princess," She said.

She made her way over to Emma with the full mug of hot chocolate.

"Hi," She mumbled, pulling her covers up to her chin.

"Hot chocolate sent straight from your father," Snow smiled, holding the mug out for Emma to grab.

"No thanks, not thirsty."

She had be thirsty. She hadn't had anything to drink it two days.

"Wanna talk about it?" Snow asked.

"Nope."

"Wanna be alone?"

"Nope."

Snow's heart felt like someone was grabbing it and twisting it inside of her chest. She was
going to have to leave Charming in the living room for now, because she wasn't about to leave her daughter alone when she needed someone.

They sat there in silence, but every once in a while Emma's sobs became audible. Snow
let her tears fall, realizing Emma probably wouldn't see them. She was hurting for her
daughter, whose heart was broken for a reason she didn't even know about yet. She never
had the chance to protect her, and now that she did have the chance she was failing.

She would keep trying, though.

xxx

"Welcome to my off, Mr. Cassidy," Archie greeted him, shaking his hand.

"Thank you."

Please, please, take a seat."

"Thank you," He said again, sitting down on the sofa.

"Let's start with why you brought yourself here today," Archie told him, crossing his legs.

"Well I- I need help with something. Something I can't fix on my own."

"And what is that?"

"I need to be a different person that my father showed me. I need to be a better father than
he was. For Henry, for Emma, for-" He stopped, not wanting to let the cat out of the bag.

"For..?" Dr. Hopper asked suspiciously.

"For myself," He admitted, smiling just a little at the secret he was keeping.

xxx

"You were in there for three hours," Charming told Snow, checking their bedside clock.

"Yep," She agreed, laying on the bed next to him.

"Well what's going on with her?"

"I don't know," Snow choked out, trying not to cry.

"She didn't tell you a thing?"

"No, she didn't want to talk about it."

"She didn't want to talk about it?" He was raising his voice, enough to wake Emma.

"Shhhh," She hushed him. "I remember being in the place that she's in. She's going to need a little more time than we're giving her."

"Tomorrow, tomorrow I want her to get up."

"What if she's not ready?" Snow asked.

"Well I want her to eat and shower, at least. She doesn't have to stay up all day," He argued.

"Fine," She agreed, finally giving in to his requests.

"It's gonna be okay," He tried to reassure her.

He wasn't even sure himself that it would be, but he leaned in a placed a kiss on her cheek anyways.

xxx

"How do you feel about that?" Archie asked, scribbling something onto a notepad.

"I'm gonna have to admit, I feel awful. I didn't want to go- Didn't want to leave her. But I felt
I had to. There was just too much fighting going on, and it really effects the kid, ya know."

"Well I'm sure it does, but what about you?"

"Of course it hurts me, man. But I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. That's why I'm here. When I get back to Emma, I don't ever want to leave," He informed Archie.

"How would you like to change yourself?" He asked, scribbling some more.

"I don't want to run away from my problems anymore. When Emma and I fight, I want to stay around instead of getting scared and running. I want to be the hero, the brave one in the relationship. I want to protect her from everything horrible and cruel in the world. But I can't
if I'm a coward. And that's what I am."

"I'm sure you're not as bad as you think," Archie reassurred him.

"But I am, and I've messed with Emma and Henry. And I will not mess up with this new baby."

"A new baby?" Archie smiled.

"I probably shouldn't have said anything but... Yeah."

Archie pushed up his glasses before responding.

"You're a good man making bad decisions."

xxx

The next morning, Emma emerged from her room, her hair still wet from her shower and smelling like vanilla. To their surprise, she looked significantly better than she had yesterday.

"Hi," She smiled, forcing herself to sound as happy as possible. "What's for breakfast?"

Charming and Snow exchanged confused looks but brought the food to the table anyways.

"Pancakes and bacon," Charming announced, setting the food in the middle.

"Sounds great," She lied, setting a pancake on her own plate.

As she added butter and syrup, another looked was exchanged between her parents, and she knew they were onto her.

It was silent, each of them figuring out how to play their cards right.

"So," Snow broke the awkwardness. "How are you feeling?"

'Like shit,' She thought to herself.

"Better," She replied, keeping her mouth full so she wouldn't have to talk.

Charming watched his daughter's face. Every facial expression held a little bit of his wife in it. Right now, he saw something behind those eyes. They were glossed over, and there were feelings behind them that she wasn't showing.

"Did Neal mention where he was going?" He asked, purposely trying to get a reaction from her. Her face didn't even flinch at the question, but it was worth a try.

"No," Snow and Emma simultaneously responded.

Neal wouldn't travel too far from his son. Charming knew that much. There was a slim chance that he was staying in Storybrooke, knowing he would have heard about it by now.

The sound of forks scraping against plates was the only sound in the room.

"We're glad you joined us to eat," Snow said, sending a smile Emma's way.

"Me too," She agreed.

'I could literally vomit all over this table right now,' She thought to herself as she struggled to keep her food down.

"Emma, what's going on with you?" Charming asked, giving up his "tough dad" act. "What's really going on?"

Emma gulped, nearly choking on her orange juice. How could she ignore that face? She
couldn't.

"Okay," She gave in. She had to tell them sooner or later. She chose sooner, figuring they
would start to notice it on their own later. "Promise you won't get mad?"

"Mad at who?" Charming asking, raising his eyebrows.

"Anyone," Emma told him. "You have to promise me, or I won't tell you."

She didn't want her father to strangle Neal, figuring it would lessen his chances of coming
back. And she needed him to come back. She didn't mean to threaten her parents in a bad
way, she just needed her parents to promise her this one thing. They could see the
desperation in her face, finding it impossible to object.

"Promise," They said in unison.

'They didn't mean it,' She thought, biting her lip.She took in a deep breath, preparing to go on anyways.

"I'm-" She started, pursing her lips. She couldn't find the right words.

"I'm pregnant," She confessed, staring down at her hands in her lap.

Snow's fork dropped right out of her hand, hitting her plate and then the floor, and she had no intentions of stopping it. She just stared at Emma, her eyes bigger than Emma had ever seen them. She was speechless.

"That son of a bitch!" Charming yelled, slamming his fist down on the table.

Everything on the table shook, and his orange juice spilled its way across the table and down
to the floor. Emma's face went from a look of worry to complete terror in 2.5 seconds.

Emma brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them, a thing she did for comfort in any bad situation. She was hoping maybe this would help her be a little less
noticeable at the moment.

Snow had picked up her eating utensil from the floor and was now holding it like a pitch fork,
and she had her eyes shut like she was trying to suppress her anger.

"I can't believe he even had the nerve!" Charming continued to yell, pacing across the room.
His hands were rubbing his temples. "He had the nerve to pack up his shit and leave. He just
left. How could he leave..." His voice drifted off, his anger turning into sadness.

"I'll get it," Snow volunteered, slamming her fork on the table before walking to the door. The doorbell had rang, and they had all mentally agreed that she was in the best shape to answer
it.

"Regina," Snow faked a smile. "Henry. What are you two doing here?" She asked, blocking
their vision to the kitchen.

Emma's hands were covering her nose and mouth, trying to quiet her crying as much as she could. She couldn't let Henry hear her like this. He was right on the other side of that door, and
if he knew that she was in this condition he would let himself in.

Charming froze, not saying another word.

"What are you doing here? You weren't supposed to drop him off until the end of the week," Snow reminded her.

"Yes, I know," Regina admitted. "But Henry insisted that he needed to stop by on the way
home from the store. He thought something might be wrong."

"No, nothing wrong here," Snow lied, smiling through the situation.

"Let me talk to Emma," He demanded, trying to get a look into the apartment.

Charming and Emma held their breath, mentally crossing their fingers that Snow wouldn't-

"Maybe you could come back.. Later," Snow offered, not knowing how any of this would be better later.

Regina was suspicious of Snow, she could see right through her extra big smile. Henry was thinking it through carefully.

"Okay," He decided. "We'll be back later."

"Okay, see you then," Snow smiled, closing the door in a swift movement as to not reveal the contents behind it.

A sigh of relief escaped each of them, and then the tension was back.

"They can't come back later," Charming realized.

"But he wants to see his mother. We can't not let him see his mother," Snow replied.

"And what are we supposed to do with Regina while they're talking? We can't just tell her to
wait outside like some sort of dog."

"We could," Snow joked.

Nobody laughed.

Emma was still in her chair, her shoulders shaking with each sob that escaped her. She still
had her face covered, too ashamed to look her parents in the eyes.

"What am I gonna do?" She finally cried as she started to hyperventilate.

"We're gonna do it how we do everything. Together," Charming announced. He had been too hard on his daughter, remembering she didn't like when people yelled.

Snow smiled with an attempt to keep her eyes from watering. He was the best.

Emma made eye contact with Charming for the first time all day, seeing he was being genuine
in what he was saying.

He walked over to her and pulled her up into a hug, taking this as a moment to say sorry for yelling. His little girl was a grown woman, she could make these decisions on her own. She
made it clear that she hadn't done it on purpose, but he knew he couldn't be upset about it. He just had to be there.

"Come on, kid," He told her, wrapping an arm around her. "Let's go wipe away those pretty
little tears."

She smiled her first real smile in days, figuring this was her parents excepting her, flaws and
all. She had always hoped and prayed for people like them. People who would love her no matter what mistakes she did. And she had made a lot of mistakes in her 28 years of life.

And although her face along with her father's shirt were stained with tears, everything felt
better for a moment.