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I knocked at my parent's front door and started moving from a foot to another, too impatient for my mom to come and open the door for me. I couldn't stay put since the morning and having to stay in bed because of my health was a real ordeal. Fortunately, I could still get out of the house if I was careful not to make too many efforts, and driving here with the yellow bug didn't take a lot of energy.

I anxiously started playing with my fingers until they hurt. I had woken up with a huge lump in my throat and my stomach was hurting because of the stress. I was feeling so much better since my collapse two weeks earlier, but this morning had been a real nightmare. And the only one I could talk to about my fears was my mom. She was the only one who could understand me. And I really needed to talk to someone, because I was feeling like I could implode from the anxiety and it was driving me crazy.

I finally saw the door handle move, and my mom appeared with a big smile on her face. She immediately took me into her arms to gently embrace me. Since Whale had told me to stay off my feet, she was very careful with me, always making sure that I was feeling fine and that I had eaten enough. I wasn't even trying to protest. It was actually making me feel very good, because I was feeling like a little girl again, except this time I had a mom and it was simply amazing.

"Emma! How are you? Come on in, honey."

I forced myself to smile in order not to worry her too much, and thanked her for her hospitality. I walked a few feet into the apartment I had shared with my parents for a while. I stopped in the middle of the living room, a bit embarrassed, not knowing how to start the conversation.

"Dad isn't here, right?" I asked while looking around me.

"No, he isn't, as you've asked on the phone this morning. He went to the park with Neal."

I nodded and nervously played with Hook's ring. I was happy that my father was absent : I didn't want him to know why I had come here. Nobody needed to be aware of my fears aside from my mom. She was the only one able to help and I was too embarrassed to talk to anyone else about my feelings.

"Sit down, baby, you need to rest. Do you want something to eat?"

I obeyed, took off my coat, placed it on the couch behind me, and shrugged. I knew all too well that my mom was going to insist about me eating something anyway. As expected, she didn't mind because a few minutes later, she put a plate containing a few biscuits on the coffee table, and she gave me a cup of hot cocoa with cinnamon.

"What do you want to talk about?" She asked, sitting down next to me on the sofa. "You sounded worried on the phone, and you're looking a bit upset."

I drank a bit of the hot cocoa to try and find some courage. I had come here to talk, after all, but I didn't know how to start and I was feeling very nervous. The concoction burnt my throat, and I winced. I was feeling so anxious my leg started to bounce up and down without me noticing anything.

"I'm scared to be a bad mom." I finally said really quickly as if the words were burning my lips.

"What?" My mom asked, staring at me with a frown.

I couldn't tell if she was just surprised or if she hadn't understood what I had said because I had talked too quickly. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second to focus. It couldn't be that hard. I knew she wouldn't judge me anyway. She was my mom. She would understand.

"I'm scared to be a bad mom." I repeated, forcing myself to speak slowly.

My mom seemed completely lost and didn't answer right away as if she was processing the information. I leaned forward to put my mug on the coffee table, and resumed playing with my fingers. I looked down and stared at the couch, nervously waiting for her reaction.

"But Emma!" She finally said, looking utterly confused by my words. "What kind of thought is this? What happened for you to think that way?"

"Nothing particular." I said in a low voice, still avoiding her gaze. "I'm thinking about that since I've learned I'm pregnant. But this morning… I don't know it just became stronger, and I feel like I'm getting crazy. I'm going to give birth soon, mom. I don't know how I'm gonna raise this child. I'm not ready. It's safe now that it's still inside of me – and yet I've managed to put it in danger when I panicked because of my powers, when I had my car crash or when I didn't tell anyone about how bad I was feeling. So how am I gonna do when it will be there?"

"Emma, everything will be okay..."

"No, it won't!" I cut her off, feeling the panic rushing over me. "I can't even stay out of danger, so how am I going to protect a little baby from the world? It will need me, and I'm not sure I can do it. What if I make mistakes? What if I hurt it without realizing it?

My voice broke on the last sentence, and I violently bit my lower lip to avoid crying. My mom put on of her hand on my knee to comfort me, and said in a gentle voice :

"But honey, it's not like you're a first-time mother. You have Henry..."

"This is different!" I shouted. "I met Henry when he was ten. He could already take care of himself. But I've never raised a baby before, and I don't trust myself..."

"Listen, baby, we all make mistakes. I know you're scared, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. You're gonna do great, I'm sure of it. Have you talked about your fears with Hook?"

I slowly shook my head. I had thought only my mom could understand me. Killian was always there for me, but he seemed so confident about the baby. He was trusting me beyond words, but I knew he was wrong. I was incapable of being a good mother, it was too much for me. And I already loved this kid so much, I couldn't have stood the idea of hurting it. My mom sighted and I shyly looked up to meet her stare :

"For god's sake, Emma, why haven't you? He's the father, and he's always there for you, he would do anything to make you happy, you know that…"

"But he can't understand!" I cried out. "You're the only one who can!"

She stared at me as if I had gone crazy. I blinked several times and, understanding that she wasn't getting anything I was telling her, I added :

"You've been in this situation before. You've had a child, but you've had to give it up and you've raised another one afterward. You must have felt the same thing when you were pregnant with Neal, am I wrong?"

She still didn't say anything and seemed completely speechless. I kept on talking, waiting for a reaction to know if my assumptions were correct :

"It was even worse for you! I was twenty-eight when I found you, I was a big girl and I could take care of myself. Henry was only ten, he was still a kid. You're the only on who can understand how I feel, because you've lived the exact same thing."

My words didn't seem to ease her. She was frowning, and seemed worried and saddened at the same time. I didn't know why she was looking so distraught, and I felt totally clueless for a few seconds.

"Mom?" I asked to make her say something, because her silence was too much to take for my already overstressed brain. "Is everything okay?"

"Emma!" She finally shouted, and she grabbed both my hands to squeeze them between hers. "You're gonna be a wonderful mom, I'm sure of it. Look how you always manage to make the kids smile. They love you. And you're right, I felt the same way at the time. But the fact that you gave up Henry for adoption doesn't change the bound you both share. You're his mother, as you're our daughter even if we didn't raise you..."

I suddenly realized that I could have hurt her with my words. I had just said what I had in mind, and I hadn't thought about how she could take it. She was probably thinking that I was still mad at her for leaving me when I was a baby. But it wasn't the case. I was understanding they hadn't had a choice now, and I really didn't want to upset my mom. I was definitely doing everything wrong lately…

"I'm sorry mom, I didn't mean it like that." I said in a muffled voice, feeling deeply guilty. "I don't blame you. You did what was right for your kingdom, you and dad are heroes. And now we're together, so everything is fine..."

"Okay, Emma, I think it's time for us to talk a little bit." she said in a serious way, and I felt the worry growing in my chest. "Look, Henry came to talk to me the other day."

"What did he want to tell you?" I asked, a bit confused.

"He wanted to talk with me about what you have told him a while ago. That you felt upset when I said that I wanted a second child." She added, seeing that I was still not understanding what she was talking about.

I sighted loudly and let go of her hand to rub my face. I would never have thought that my son was going to tell my parents about our conversation. I had talked to him to comfort him, and I was now paying the consequences of my words. It was only making things more complicated that they already were, and I wondered why the hell my son had talked to my mom about that. I had told him that I was okay now, he had no reason to go talk to his grandparents, and I didn't know how to get away from this situation.

"I'm going to have a little conversation with him later." I mumbled, a bit annoyed at him. "He really didn't have to tell you that."

"Don't be mad at him, baby." She tempered with a little smile. "He did it because he's worried about you. He just wants you to be happy. And I know he was feeling a bit weird after what you've said that day, so he wanted to ask me what were my thoughts about it. He did nothing bad, really"

"You're right." I sighted once again, wondering how I was going to explain myself. "But I felt that way only for a few minutes, you know. It was just weird for me when you said that in the echo cave in Neverland. But when I learned that you were pregnant, I was happy..."

"I understand, Emma." She said with a little smile. "You would have wanted me to talk to you about that before saying it aloud in the cave."

"You didn't really have a choice, you had to tell your deepest secret after all." I stated, before adding, a bit embarrassed. "I Just… I felt like I wasn't good enough for you."

"Emma..." she started, looking horrified.

"It was just for a little while!" I cut her off to try and defend myself. "I know I was wrong. And I love Neal, I love being a big sister..."

"Listen to me very carefully." She said with tears in her eyes. "I forbid you to think like that ever again, you understand? I haven't raised you, and believe me when I say I regret that everyday. I would have wanted to give you the childhood you deserved, I would have wanted to see your first steps, your first words, I would have wanted to give you everything, Emma, but it's too late for that. You're a grown-up, and as you said, you can take care of yourself. But I'll always be there for you, and your dad and I love you so much. When I see the beautiful, loving, perfect woman you've become, I couldn't be prouder of you."

I nodded slowly. I felt tears forming in my eyes because of her words. I knew my parents loved me, of course, but hearing her say it aloud was really moving me. She smiled and cupped my face to look at me with pure love in her eyes, before wrapping her arms around me to pull me into a tight embrace. I buried my face in her shoulder, enjoying how safe I was feeling in that position.

"I love you so much, honey..."

"I love you too, mom." I answered in a muffled voice, still trying to hold back my tears.

I stayed cuddled into her arms for a little while before she gently pulled away from me. She smiled and kissed my forehead, and I grinned back. Sure, my relationship with my parents hadn't always been easy. Being the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming was something pretty hard to accept. But we loved each other, and I couldn't have been happier to finally have a family.

"And about your fears, of course I understand them. I felt the exact same way. But you really don't have to be scared. You're gonna be a wonderful mom, and your baby will have everything to be happy. But if I can give you an advice, it's that you should talk about it with Killian. He won't judge you, and he can help you. I'm sure he's feeling exactly like you are. You can overcome this together. You're a team."

"Thanks, mom." I said with a little smile.

She was right, I should have told Killian way sooner. He could help me. He always knew how to comfort me. My mom nodded, guessing that I had finally taken the good decision, and she grabbed the plate containing the biscuits to offer me one of the sweets.

"Come on, eat something. You're not skipping meal anymore, are you? You're getting enough rest, you're listening to what Whale has said to you?"

"Yeah, I am, I'm doing everything I can for the baby to be all right." I said with a thankful smile as I took a biscuit in my hand. "And I'm feeling much better now that I've stopped running around the town. It's hard to stay still sometimes, but it's for the little one, so it's worth it."

"Good. You know what, Emma? I'm sure you're gonna be very happy. You deserve it."

I smiled at her, touched and comforted by her words. Now that she had talked about me speaking with Killian, I couldn't wait to go home and tell him everything. He would understand, he was always so supportive. We could comfort each other. He always knew how to make me feel better, and I was sure that we could do it, now. Sure, we would probably make mistakes, as every parents in the world. Nobody was perfect. But this kid was going to be loved and that was the most important thing, I knew it now.

I closed the front door behind me and removed the snowflakes from my coat before quickly taking it off. It was nicely warm inside the house, and I walked toward the living room with a little smile. I was feeling so much better now. Killian was sitting on the couch, his feet on the coffee table, and was reading a book. He was looking so peaceful, and didn't seem to have heard me coming back from my mom's. I approached him and said gently in order not to startle him :

"I'm home."

"Is everything all right?" He asked as I was sitting down next to him on the sofa, putting his book on the coffee table. "I didn't want to say anything earlier, but you seemed vexed. Is this why you went to see your mother?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now."

I put one of my leg underneath me to turn and face him. I was really eager to tell him everything now. He would comfort me, and I was curious to know if he was feeling the same way. He hadn't raised a child before either, after all.

"I need to talk to you, Killian..." I said and I saw his expression change as he started to look really worried.

"Wow, that's not a good sign, is it? Did I do something wrong? If so, I'm really sorry..."

"No, babe." I laughed, putting a hand on his knee to ease him. "You didn't do anything wrong, I'm not mad at you. I just wanted to tell you the reason why I went to see my mom. I wanted to talk with her because…"

I stopped, not knowing how to tell him everything. It was a pretty difficult conversation, and I didn't know where to start. But he looked at me with half a smile, and it reassured me. I took a deep breath before resuming :

"Because I'm scared to be a bad mom."

He didn't answer right away. He was looking a bit surprised by my revelation, and he seemed to be searching for the right words to tell me his thoughts. I waited patiently, my hand still on his knee, and he finally said after a few more seconds :

"Well, first of all, you're gonna be a great mother, I can tell. But why didn't you say anything before now?"

He didn't seem mad at all, just a little surprised. I had been a bit scared to talk to him because I didn't want to upset him. I had gone to see my mother instead of him, after all. But he just seemed eager to understand, and I admitted with a shy smile :

"Because I was scared you would think I'm crazy. I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. I just went to my mom because she once was in the same situation I am today : she had a child, but she didn't raised it. I thought she was the only one who could understand..."

"Believe me, I get it too." He stated with a slight sight.

"Are you scared too?" I suddenly asked without notice, because I really wanted to know.

"Of course I'm afraid, Swan." He said as if it was obvious. "I've never really taken care of a baby before now. But you know what makes me feel better when I start to feel anxious? Well, it's you, love." He said when I had shaken my head, and I raised my eyebrows, surprised. "Because when I see you with Neal and the other kids, I can see how good you are with them. You're gonna be the greatest mother ever. Do you remember when you saw me looking at you during the Christmas party, when you were playing with the children? Well it was because I was thinking of how adorable you were with them. They absolutely love you"

"That's what my mom told me too." I admitted with a smile. "And I feel the same way about you. When I have doubts, I think about how wonderful you're gonna be with our baby, and it makes me feel a lot better."

He smiled at me and took my hand. I looked at our fingers naturally intertwining with each other, as if they had been made to be that way.

"We're a team." He said in a low voice. "We're gonna be good parents. We're gonna raise this kid, and it's gonna be the most adorable child in the entire universe."

"With a pirate as a father, it's gonna be a bit unruly." I joked with a little laugh.

"With you as a mother, it's gonna be sassy." He replied, and I giggled. "But I know we're gonna do good."

I nodded and smiled. Between Killian and my mom's advice, I was feeling a lot better now. They were right. We would make it together. It had always worked that way, and we were starting a family together. All was good.