Hello my AMAZING readers :D Here it is, my twist chapter, I hope you like my little twist. I'll have you all know it shall become very important by the end ;)

Tuesday night

Snow sat fidgeting on the couch, looking at Emma every couple of seconds. She was totally unaware that Emma was aware of this until she said

"Mom, do you need to go to the bathroom or something?" She asked. Snow gave her a curious look.

"What?" She asked. Emma sighed and moved round to face her.

"You've been fidgeting about for ages. And you keep staring at me, what's up?" Snow looked at the carpet.

"I don't know if I should say or not Emma… I don't want to upset you…" Snow admitted. Emma got up from her chair and sat beside Snow on the couch. She rested her head on Snow's shoulder. Snow glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. That was a dirty trick Snow thought; Emma knew she was a total sucker when Emma put her head on her shoulder.

"Come on mom, you can tell me." Emma said temptingly. Snow sighed, patting Emma's cheek.

"Well ok, but don't say I didn't warn you." Snow groaned. She took her arm from Emma's face, wrapping it around her shoulders. "It's just, I would be quite nice if next time you age back, you could be pretty young again. Not that I don't like seeing all your ages, but I just love being able to totally take care of you, like I should have done." Snow said quickly, wanting to get it all out. Snow's heart sank when she felt Emma freeze in her arms.

"I don't know, mom," Emma said cautiously. "I've got no problem with it, but last time it happened you got a bit upset. I don't want to upset you." Emma told her.

"Oh Emma sweetie no," Snow said, letting Emma out her grasp so they could face each other. Snow took Emma's face in her hands. "I wasn't upset, and certainly not at you. I admit it was a bit…over-whelming… but that's only because it was a complete surprise, I had no time to prepare myself. Not that I didn't appreciate the surprise, it was really thoughtful. But this time, I would know what to expect. But if you're not happy with it we don't have to…"

"No," Emma interrupted her, putting her hand on top of her mom's. "I'm happy to. You might have seemed a bit upset, but you had a glow for days afterwards. Anything's worth it to make you happy. Did you have an age in mind?" Snow couldn't help but smile, and pull Emma's head forward to kiss it.

"You're the best daughter ever, you know that? Well, I don't know but I was thinking maybe something like a year and a half? That way I might be able to coax you into saying mama as your first word." Snow sheepishly admitted. Emma chuckled and squeezed her mom's hand.

"Eighteen months it is. I'm going to go and check on Henry, night mom."

"Night Emma, have a good sleep." Snow replied, smiling from the couch, barely containing her excitement for the weekend ahead.

Saturday morning

Emma stood in front of the clock, while Snow and David practically bounced with excitement.

"Ready?" Emma asked them. They nodded back enthusiastically, and Emma let the familiar light surround her. Snow laughed as a little lump formed under Emma's clothes, wiggling around.

"Let's get you out of there." Snow chuckled, picking up a giggling Emma from the pile of clothes. "Mama's got a lovely outfit ready for you." A few minutes later and Snow had wrestled Emma into a pair of pink shorts with white tights and a Hello Kitty t-shirt. "There," Snow said, picking Emma up again. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" She said, rubbing her nose against Emma's. "Kisses for mama?" she asked her young daughter. Emma gave an angelic smile as she leaned forward to kiss her mother.

"Well, we can't have that." David said, taking Emma off of Snow. "Where's dada's kisses?" Emma giggled s she leaned forward again and David kissed her. "There, that's fair. We can't leave dada out, can we?" David had made sure to put extra emphasis on dada, which Snow noticed. She took Emma back off of David.

"Don't think I don't know your game, dada. Emma, you want to say mama, don't you?" Emma answered by blowing a raspberry.

And from that point on, the game was on as to which Emma would say first- Mama or dada? Although, the main focus of the day was giving Emma some fun. Which they did, in bucket loads. They discovered her favourite toy was a little jack in the box they'd got in preparation. She couldn't get enough!

"Ready, baby?" Snow said in an excited tone. Emma clapped her hands enthusiastically from David's lap as Snow wound up the toy. She squealed in delight as the little clown sprung up from the box. The sound was infectious, and made repeating the process enjoyable for her parents too. After the fifth time, the phone rang and David passed Emma over to Snow and got up to answer it. He'd only taken a couple of steps when Emma cried in protest.

"Don't worry, princess." David told her. "Dada will be back soon-"

"Dada!" Emma yelled. Snow and David froze. David turned back around. He pointed at Emma, still squirming in Snow's lap.

"Did she just?" He choked. Snow nodded.

"She did." Emma took her parents' stunned silence as a chance to wiggle out of Snow's lap and toddle over to David. His face broke into a massive grin.

"That's my girl!" He cried, swinging her around. "Did you hear her, Snow? She said dada! Her first word was dada!"

"Yeah," Snow said quietly as she sat back with her arms folded. "I heard her." David's smile faded.

"Come on, Snow. Don't be like that. Most kids say dada first…"

"You weren't the one sharing your body with her for nine months…" Snow grumbled.

"Emma still loves her mama, don't you Emmy?" As if she understood, Emma held her arms out to Snow. Snow sighed, got up and took her.

"Just not enough to say my name first hmm?" Emma put her hand over Snow's mouth and Snow kissed it.

"What can I say?" David said cockily. "She can't help being a daddy's little girl." This resulted in him having a pillow tossed at his head.

"You said it yourself; mama's just harder to say. Don't you get cocky, Emma is a mama's little girl, aren't you baby?" Emma's only response was to flap about to be put down, and she toddled straight over to the jack in the box, completely fascinated. Snow rolled her eyes. "Or of course the other option is she prefers that jack in the box to either of us…" David chuckled as he came up behind Snow and wrapped his arms around her.

"I still maintain she's a daddy's girl." He mumbled in her ear. Snow leaned her head back to look into David's eyes with their mischievous sparkle.

"Do you want a beating, because it sure seems like you're asking for one…" She warned. David just grinned at her.

"I suppose I can share if you can." Snow flashed a wicked smirk before breaking free of David's grasp and running over to Emma. She scooped her up and sprinted to the door.

"Sorry sweetie," Snow said teasingly, kissing Emma's cheek. "All mine." Before running off.

"Oh no you don't!" David called, beginning to chase after his girls. He eventually caught them in Emma's room. Snow grabbed a white cloth from Emma's changing table.

"Alright, alright! We surrender." Snow said with a smile. David shook his head from the doorway.

"Oh, I'm afraid it's far too late for that." He said menacingly. He slowly made his way over to Snow and Emma, wiggling his fingers. "For I'm afraid all this chasing has unleashed…the tickle monster!" David took Emma off of Snow and blew raspberries on her stomach, much to her sheer delight. He then proceeded to tickle Emma's tummy while she kicked her legs and giggled." David himself chuckled as he placed Emma back on his hip and turned and looked at Snow with a mischievous grin.

"What?" She asked.

"Snow… have you forgotten that I know you're ticklish?" Snow's eyes widened in terror. Quick as a flash she was off again.

"Looks like its round two Emmy!" David said to Emma, as he ran after her mother with her cradled to his chest. David did eventually catch up with Snow, but by the time he did they were too exhausted from both the chase and the laughing to do any actual tickling. Snow wrapped her arms around David, Emma squashed between them. Snow kissed Emma's forehead.

"She's just the most perfect child." Snow whispered contentedly. David nodded.

"Any child of yours would be." He said charmingly. Snow giggled.

"I do believe she's your child too, you know." Snow replied. "I don't believe the platinum blonde hair and blue eyes came from me, sweetie."

"Yeah, but everything else is all her mommy. Right down to her stubbornness…"

"I am not...oh never mind." Snow said, as David raised his eyebrow. Snow took Emma off of David. "Why can't you be this small all the time, huh baby? I could keep you in dresses; show my girl off and best off all, you're not afraid to show me that you love me." As if on cue, Emma leaned in and gave Snow a kiss. "Yes baby, like that." David kissed Snow's cheek, understanding her pain. Snow held Emma close, inhaling her beautiful baby smell. She loved being able to hold Emma so close. It made Snow feel secure. She knew Emma was never any safer than she was when she was in her arms. It was still hard for Emma as an adult to accept Snow's love, making it hard for Snow to protect her. Here, Snow could do her job and keep her baby safe and loved.

The poor little tot was exhausted by her bed time; she was asleep before Snow finished changing her into her pyjamas. Snow smiled at her, kissing her as she put her in her crib.

"Sweet dreams, my little angel." Snow whispered, turning off the light. She tip toed back through to her room and settled down for the night herself.

…But not for long. Snow awoke to Emma's cries. She rolled over in bed and groaned as "4:00" flashed up on her alarm clock. David muttered something about not wanting to fight the dragon and went silent again.

"Guess I'm going then…" Snow whispered, getting up. She made her way through to Emma's room. She saw her sitting up in her crib, pouting. When Emma saw her mom, she flung her hands in the air. Snow laughed as she picked her up.

"Hey there, noisy one. What's wrong, huh?" Emma responded by burying herself into Snow's chest. Snow laughed again. "Emma Ruth, have you woke mommy up at four in the morning for a cuddle?" Emma responded by looking up at Snow with an expression Snow would describe as "well yes, you didn't expect me to wait, did you?" Snow smiled. "Just as well mommy loves Emma's cuddles." Snow brought Emma over to the chair. "Well, I'll cuddle you here until you fall asleep, ok?" Emma looked at Snow, her brow furrowed in concentration. Snow's heart pounded, was this it?

"Ba." Emma blurted out. Snow let out the breath she'd been holding. Emma had a proud grin on her face. Snow kissed her head.

"Yeah beautiful, ba." Emma settled down, snuggling into Snow's arms. Emma brought her thumb to her mouth and her breathing began to even out. Snow thought she'd just rest her eyes for five minutes, as she fell asleep with Emma in her arms.

She woke up with a start when she heard a creek at the door. She squinted in the morning light, to see David standing there.

"Time's it?" She murmured.

"Eight on the dot." He said, smiling. Emma woke up hearing his voice. She turned her head to look and grinned upon seeing her daddy. She wove her arms in the air frantically. David smiled as he strode over and scooped her up.

"Hello gorgeous, did you steal your mommy from me last night? What a fly little girl you are! Well, mommy's going to have some me time while daddy gets you ready." David told her. Snow got up, stretched, kissed Emma's head and patted David's arm.

"Thanks, sweetie." She told him.

"Any time." He said back. David enjoyed his time with just him and Emma. He couldn't help but feel proud she was saying dada every couple of minutes. Snow came back to join them a couple of hours later.

"You should have woke me up." She told him. "This is our last day with her like this. Every second is precious." She told him, scooping Emma up off the floor and holding her close. David joined them, kissing Snow's head.

"We still have plenty of time today. I say we make the most of it." Snow nodded in reply.

And make the most of it they did. The house had never been messier, but Snow had never been happier. She'd waited longer than most to hear her baby's giggles; she'd do anything to hear that sweet sound. It was the same night routine as when Emma was a baby before, she would spend the night with Snow and David would stay in her room. David kissed her head, letting his lips linger against her soft skin as he said goodnight.

"Good night, my baby." He told her. "Dada loves you very much." With that, he handed her back over to Snow, unable to say anymore. Snow let David go, knowing he'd need some space just now.

"Ok," She said to Emma. "Shall we go to bed, my little one?" Emma answered by snuggling into Snow's shoulder. "I'll take that as a yes mama." Snow chuckled, carrying her through.

Snow made sure her arm was wrapped tight around her sleeping baby, before settling down. She kept her eyes locked on her until she could not keep them open any longer; she wanted to save this moment forever.

Snow could feel herself coming too. She went to sit up and stretch, but found her arm pinned down. She smiled; Emma was obviously having a lie in before getting up to get Henry.

"Emma honey," Snow said gently. "It's time to get up and… Emma!" Snow chocked out the last word. For who was on the bed with her was not her twenty nine year old daughter, but her eighteen month old daughter. Snow picked Emma up and held her so they were eye level.

"Emma, Emma baby what's happened?" Snow asked, terrified. Emma seemed to be picking up on her mother's worry and her bottom lip started shaking. "No no no, it's ok. Don't cry." Snow pressed Emma to her chest. "You don't need to cry, mama will sort it. David!" Snow called in as calm a voice as she could manage. "David, could you come here now please?" David came through straight away, catching the panic in his wife's voice. He saw baby Emma in Snow's arms, but had to do a double take.

"Why hasn't she-"

"I don't know, but we need to get it sorted." She said as she got up and passed Emma to David. "Could you get her ready while I call Regina to keep Henry for a bit longer and then call Rumple?"

"Rumple?" David asked, not wanting to go to him, no matter how much he'd apparently changed.

"Yes David, Rumple." Snow said irritably as she picked up the phone and started dialling Regina's number. "He's our best shot at helping her. Now get her dressed please… Hello Regina? It's Snow, we have a problem, you're going to have to keep hold of Henry for a little longer."

"Might this have something to do with your fortnightly arrangements?" Regina sneered. "Because if it is, I will not be happy."

"Yes Regina it is, but right now I'm more worried about Emma than your rage. If you could please just keep Henry for a few hours longer…"

"I told you I wouldn't be happy if your selfishness affected him-"

"And I told you if you hadn't stolen my baby's childhood from me then we wouldn't have to do this. We'll let you know more when we can." Snow said with an air of finality as she hung up on her step-mother. She didn't waste any time before punching in the digits of Rumple's shop. It went straight to answerphone. "It's going straight to answerphone; we'll need to take her straight there." Snow called to David as she grabbed some clothes to get changed quickly. David was standing with a now fully dressed Emma and a curious expression on his face. Snow didn't have time to question him though. Snow came back as soon as she was dressed. "We need to get her to Rumple immediately. We don't know how much time we have before things become permanent." Snow said rushing about to find her car keys. David was standing totally still, curling Emma defensively into his chest.

"Come on Charming!" Snow shouted in frustration.

"Here's the thing Snow," David said dryly. "What if I don't want to try and force it out of her?" Snow stopped in her tracks and stared at him. "Think about it," He continued. "This, this could be our chance to erase all the pain she went through-"

"David don't you dare guilt trip me into this!" Snow snapped. "Don't you see you're being absurd? Of course I'd love nothing more than for Emma to grow up with us, where she belongs. But that would take away Henry's mother. Can you imagine how Emma would feel about that? I would go to Hell and back for Emma, and she'd do the same for her child. We need to do this, David." Snow said firmly. David moved his hand to cup the back of Emma's head. He could feel the tears building as he heard her little heart hammer against his chest. He could feel her breath tickle his cheek, hear her little babbling sounds. He didn't want this to stop.

"Snow, I don't think I can." He croaked. "She's not aged back this time; there must be a reason for that. What if that's because she wants this too?" David finished with tears in his eyes. Snow walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"And what if this is something dangerous that could hurt her? We have to do this, David. I'd rather lose her childhood than lose her completely."

"It seems that's a choice we always have to make." David replied bitterly. Snow didn't even reply, she just grabbed his arm and pulled him out to the car.

Snow and David went rushing through the door to Rumple's shop. Snow ran forward and tapped the bell repeatedly until both Rumple and Belle appeared. Belle smiled at little Emma.

"Aww, Rumple told me she was ageing back! What a little cutey…"

"Yes, my daughter's adorable." Snow cut in. "But by now she shouldn't be." Rumple's eyebrow raised.

"She's not aged back when she should have, has she?" Rumple asked. Snow shook her head.

"Can you help her?" She pleaded. Rumple held his hands up.

"Sorry dearie, I said this was risky. I'll take no part in this…"

"Rumple, a word?" Belle said, pulling him aside. "Those people need your help, and you're going to help them." Belle told him. Rumple grimaced.

"But Belle…"

"No, Rumple. They need you, and you will help them, and simply because it's the right thing to do. Alright?" Rumple stared at her for a moment, but when he saw she wouldn't back down he sighed irritably.

"Fine." He groaned. Belle smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you." She said. Rumple just muttered under his breath as he walked back to the family.

"Before I can give you anything to help her, I'll need to examine her." Rumple said gruffly, reaching out for Emma. But David pulled her back, placing his hand protectively over her head.

"Will this hurt her?" He asked, straight to the point. Rumple sighed impatiently.

"I don't believe so, no…"

"Believe so? So you might hurt her? No, not happening. I'm not giving her over to be hurt." David said firmly, tightening his grip on his daughter.

"Fine," Rumple snapped. "Leave her as a child; it's not me taking away someone's mother."

"Rumple," Belle warned. "Gently, this is their child. Be patient." Rumple closed his eyes and counted to ten before continuing. "We don't know what pain could be caused by not trying to age her back. Her body's not meant to be this age, whatever the reason this will be putting a huge strain on her body. We don't know the consequences of leaving her like this; we need to find out how to help her. Why don't you hold her while I examine her? I'm ninety nine per cent sure it won't hurt." David turned to Snow. She nodded, taking Emma's hand. Reluctantly, David turned Emma to face Rumple. He smiled understandingly as he ran his hand alongside Emma's body. He did this a couple of times before seeming to draw his conclusions.

"Basically, although Emma's magic is very powerful, it has its glitches." He explained as he went behind his counter and started looking through various bottles. "The magic she stores when she ages back to change her back to her normal self seems to have failed. Her body will know it should be its adult self, but can't change back. Give her this when you get home, this will restore her back to her normal self?" He said, handing the bottle over.

"What do you want for it?" Snow asked. Rumple smiled, placing his arm around Belle. "This one's on me. I can't deny having my part to play in Emma missing her rightful childhood, it's only right I help allow her to have one now."

"But all magic comes with a price, what will the price of this be?" Snow asked apprehensively. Rumple's smile faded.

"All I can tell you is that it will be Emma who'll have to pay it- nothing can change that. As to what it is, I don't know. But I do know the longer she is left in this form, the greater the price will be." That was all Snow needed to hear, she thanked Rumple took David's hand and they left.

They got back to their home at record speed, getting things ready for when Emma did age back. Snow put the potion in a sippy cup of apple juice and sat down with Emma between her legs.

"Ok then baby girl," She said quietly. "Let's fix you." She tried to put the cup in Emma's mouth, but Emma pushed it away. She smiled up at Snow, reaching her little hands towards her.

"Mama." She said, in a voice only shared between a child and their mother. Snow's heart sored. She finally heard it, the first time her baby should have said her name. She couldn't help the tears coming out. She ran a hand down Emma's face.

"That's right, my clever girl, I'm your mama. Now, mama needs you to drink this, ok?" Snow put the cup to Emma's lips and she drank greedily. She'd barely finished when the glow surrounded her, and there sat an adult Emma in her place. Emma took in her surroundings. She could feel her mom behind her; see David looking down on her, concerned.

"This isn't your bedroom…" She murmured. David and Snow relaxed, grateful Emma seemed normal. David put his hand out to help Emma up; she took it and got to her feet. That's when she felt the pain. It was a sharp stabbing pain in her head, with a horrible screeching in her ears. She let out a gasp and collapsed into David's chest.

"Emma!" Both her parents exclaimed in worry. David picked her up and carried her over to the couch.

"My head," Emma groaned. "I feel like Anton's bouncing on a trampoline in there…" Emma stopped, rubbing her temple. Snow shushed her, stroking her head.

"That'll be because you seemed to go on for a little longer than you should of," She whispered. "It's three pm. Rumple had to give us a potion to allow you to change back, it turns out your magic isn't totally secure."

"Henry…" Emma gasped, trying to sit up, but Snow pushed her back down.

"Is fine and none the wiser. David's going to pick him up right now, aren't you, David?" Snow said, turning and giving him a meaningful look.

"I am?" He replied, looking down at Emma, clearly not wanting to leave her. Snow used her free hand to squeeze one of his.

"Yes, I'll take care of her, don't worry." David nodded in understanding. He bent down to kiss both Snow and Emma's heads.

"Feel better, Em." He whispered into her head, before leaving to collect his grandson.

Snow got up to get some things to help Emma, but her daughter suddenly had an iron tight grip on her wrist.

"Where are you going?" She asked, panic clear in her voice. Snow bent back down and stroked her head.

"I'm just going to go and get some things to see if I can make you feel better, alright? I'll be right back." Snow said reassuringly. She could tell the way Emma slowly released her grip she didn't want Snow to leave. "I know you're not feeling well, but are you ok? You seem quite reluctant for me to leave…"

"I don't know why," Emma said, her voice shaking. "I just know that I'm scared and I want-no-I need you here." She admitted. "I've never needed anyone like this before. I just don't understand…"

"Hey," Snow said calmly, pulling Emma into a hug. "It doesn't matter why. You need me and I'll be here, you don't need to be afraid, ever." Snow told her, stroking her thumb across Emma's shoulder. "But, sweetheart, I do need to go and get those things to make you better. Think you'll be ok for just a minute?" Snow asked her. Emma gave a soft chuckle.

"This is ridiculous. I'm twenty nine years old and I won't let my mother leave my side."

"No," Snow replied as she got to her feet. "It's far from ridiculous. Your brain has to go from baby to adult very quickly, there's bound to be a few qualities left over. Not that I can say I mind, I enjoy mothering you, I just wish you weren't in pain." Emma rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine. I'm just being silly. Can you go get me a blanket, it's a little chilly." Emma asked her, knowing asking for something would be the only way to get her to leave. Snow smiled and patted Emma's head.

"I'll be back in a moment with a few things then." Snow went upstairs to raid the medicine cabinet, and Emma immediately felt the loss of her mom being there. Snow came back as quickly as humanly possible. She carried with her a cold compress, pillow, blanket, painkillers and a bottle of water.

"Take two of the tablets just now, and I'll get you to take two more in four hours." She told Emma. Emma did as she was told, anything to get rid of the stabbing pain.

"Well, at least they taste better than that stupid potion… Potion!" Suddenly Emma was bolt upright, with Snow forcing her back down again.

"Would you please stop doing that?" Snow asked her wearily. "You'll make your headache worse. Now, why are you so worked up about the potion?" Emma tried to push against her mother's grip on her shoulders, but Snow was too strong.

"Don't bother Emma; I'm not going back to Whale with you again. Now, why are you so uptight over the potion?"

"Because magic always comes with a price." Emma said irritably. "And I want to know what the price of that potion was."

"Well isn't it obvious?" Snow said with a slight smile. She rolled her eyes at Emma's cluelessness. "Emma, your killer headache? It's not like a normal headache, is it?" Emma shook her head. "There you go, you have your answer. And we've already talked about the price of you using your magic to age back. You know that it's your walls." Emma sighed, finally stopping pushing against Snow's hold on her.

"Every time I age back, a little section is chipped away. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to actually tell people what I'm feeling. But at the same time, I feel more vulnerable. Last time I allowed myself to be vulnerable, I got hurt. I'm not how I'll cope if I get hurt like that again." Emma admitted, starting to cry. Snow immediately wiped away the tears.

"You're not going to get hurt. I won't allow that. Emma I'd crawl through Hell backwards for you, you don't need to worry about being hurt ever again." Emma tried to sit up again, but winced and lowered back to the couch.

"What did I say about sitting up?" Snow said in an exasperated voice. She put her hand on Emma's forehead. "At least you're a normal temperature. Any other symptoms?" Snow asked Emma.

"Mom, honestly I'm fine…"

"Clearly not. Now either you tell me your symptoms or you tell Whale…"

"Fine," Emma groaned. There was no point in lying; her mom would be able to tell. "I'm quite sore all over, feels like I've been hit by a bus. That's it other than the sore head, really." Snow nodded, accepting Emma's answers as true.

"Ok then, I'll go run you a bath." Snow said, patting Emma's hand as she got up.

"Mary Margaret I can run my own bath…" Snow turned and gave Emma a look that silenced her.

"Why are we suddenly back to Mary Margaret? I am your mother, Emma; I think we've gotten to the point now where no matter what age you are I can tell you off. To you I am mom, or ma'am, understood?" Emma nodded her head, shocked by Snow's outburst. Snow nodded. "Good, now I'm away to run you a bath."

"Seriously though…mom… I can run my own bath, it's fine…" Snow raised her eyebrow.

"Ok then, up you get." She said. Emma tried to get up, but her head screamed in protest. She lay back down on the couch and closed her eyes. She felt Snow press the bottle of water into her hands.

"See, sometimes mother knows best. Now, I'll be back when your bath is ready to help you up."

"I can't even-"

"No," Said, already heading for the bathroom.

Snow came back when the bath was ready. "Ok, we ready to go?" She asked Emma, leaning down in front of her. Emma nodded.

"Yeah, but do we have to do this?" Emma replied.

"Oh no sweetheart, we don't have to. We could go to the hospital and the lovely nurses could give you a bath instead."

"Point taken…" Emma mumbled, allowing Snow to help her to her feet. Emma swayed when the pain hit her, but Snow kept her upright.

"It's alright, I've got you." She told Emma. Snow supported Emma to the bathroom.

"Ok, thanks mom I've got it from here." Snow made a scoffing noise.

"Emma, if I didn't half carry you through here you never would have made it. Don't be ridiculous, I've spent the weekend changing your diapers." Emma sighed, realising resistance was futile.

"We never speak of this again." She told Snow, who nodded.

"Not a peep." Reluctantly, Emma allowed Snow to help her out of her dressing gown and into the tub. She made contented noise as the warm water soothed her aching muscles. "Do you need anything else?" Snow asked. Emma shook her head, but couldn't stop herself asking the question.

"Are you doing this because you feel bad that you asked me to be a baby this time, and then I never aged back and now I'm sick?" Snow completely froze. She sighed, sat down on the toilet and rubbed her temple.

"I can't lie to you Emma, I was terrified when I woke up and saw you were still a baby. And I did feel guilty because I asked you to do it. And I felt even worse because part of me hoped it was irreversible." Snow admitted, trying desperately to keep the tears behind her eyes. She would not let her daughter see her cry.

"Don't be upset," Emma said from the tub, feeling stupid for asking the question. "I understand, I really do. If there was a way for me to get Henry back as a baby, I would take it. What's important is you found a way. I trust you, and you showed me why today. I can always count on you, I don't need to worry when I age back, I know you'll keep me safe." Snow now couldn't hold back the tears, but this time they were happy tears. Emma had already said how she trusted her, but it still meant a lot to hear it aloud.

"Emma, it doesn't matter whether you've aged down or whether you are your normal age, I will keep you safe and happy if it's the last thing I do. It's my job."

"I'd say you do a pretty damn good job. Certainly better than anyone I've ever met." The silent message was clear; Emma was saying Snow was the best mom ever. Snow didn't focus in on this, not wanting to embarrass Emma. She muttered something about housework and left to have a happy cry away from Emma's sight.

She came back about fifteen minutes later to help Emma out again… to find her wrapped in her towel on the bathroom floor.

"Emma sweetie, what are you doing down there?" She asked. Emma looked up at her, her eyes not really focusing.

"Oh, it's nothing really. I got out, wrapped my towel round me and felt a little dizzy so thought I'd sit down… but then I couldn't get back up again. Snow could see Emma shivering from her hair still being dripping wet. She helped Emma up so she was sitting on the toilet and grabbed a smaller towel and started to gently dry her hair. Emma tried to protest. "Really mom, there's no need…"

"Try and raise your hands above your head." Snow told her. Emma tried, but winced and lowered them, feeling stiffness in her shoulders. Snow made a triumphant noise and continued drying her hair before bundling it up in her towel.

"I've put out some fresh jammies on your bed." Snow said as she brought Emma into her room. "I'll be back in a minute with some soup."

"What kind?" Emma asked brightly. Snow laughed and poked Emma in the stomach. "Is your mind ever off food? Chicken noodle, what else for the patient?" She joked, leaving to get the soup.

Snow came back with the soup to find Emma in the bed, shivering slightly. Snow grabbed a blanket from her daughter's cupboard and draped it round her shoulders.

"Thanks." Emma sniffed.

"No problem." Snow replied, putting the tray of soup in front of Emma. "Bon appetite." She told her. Emma smiled and picked up the spoon, but didn't actually eat. She was basically swirling the spoon around the bowl until Snow stopped her.

"You're sick, you need to eat that and it will go cold. So either eat it or I'll feed it to you." Snow warned her. Emma gave Snow a filthy look, but Snow just returned it with her mother look. "Do you really want to try me?" She asked. There was silence for a couple of seconds. Snow then sighed and reached for the spoon but Emma bet her to it.

"Ok, point made." She moaned, taking a spoonful. Snow smiled, satisfied.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Snow teased. Emma gave a funny little smile.

"No, I guess it wasn't." She said. She tried to get another spoonful of soup, but Snow caught her wrist.

"What is it you're not telling me?" She asked her daughter. Emma rolled her eyes.

"How is it you're able to do that?" She asked in awe. Snow chuckled.

"I'm your mother; it's just something we do. Now stop stalling and tell me what you're hiding from me." Snow probed. Emma looked down at her knees, flicking about a bread crumb.

"It's just weird, you know? Even a couple of months ago if you'd tried to take care of me as an adult like this, I would have totally shut you out. Now, now whenever you so much as try and leave the room I want to call you back." Emma admitted. Snow squeezed Emma's shoulder.

"Hey, that's nothing to get upset about. You spent twenty eight years of your life without me; it's only understandable that you want me around now. I'm not leaving, you know that right."

"Yeah," Emma said quietly. "I know that." Snow felt there and then that whatever debris of Emma's walls that was left crumbled to dust. Emma was reaching out as an adult, but that didn't mean Snow was done seeing her as a child. But first, the Emma that was here in the present needed her mom.

Well, I hope you enjoyed, and thanks for being patient! And oh, exciting Gosh news, ay? :D Hope you're enjoying season 3!