Happy new year everyone!
Snow and Charming made sure one of them was with Emma at all times while she was out. The other parent would try and spend as much time as possible with Marali, when she too wasn't coming in to check on her sister. Regina was still making it clear that she though Emma needed better teaching in controlling these outbursts, but she didn't seem to understand that Snow and Charming had already tried all of that with Blue. She had explained to them that this simply was Emma's magic. It was, in ways, an excellent defence mechanism. Nobody could get particularly close to her when she had an outburst. Not even Marali. The price being the toll it took on her body when it was over, and how painful it was during.
Emma eventually woke up around two days later. She squinted as she opened her eyes. Her head was still pounding. It was clearly late at night. She could hear someone else breathing heavily and felt an arm draped over her waist. She turned her head to the side to see her mom, sleeping peacefully. Emma knew they did all this when she had an outburst, even when she told them they didn't need to. It wasn't like she knew they were there. Emma carefully slipped out of the bed, leaving her mom to sleep on. She padded her way down the empty corridor towards the washroom. That was one advantage of this dreary castle, no night guards. She didn't have to explain to six different people she had to pee in the middle of the night in order to be allowed to go to the washroom.
Emma came out of the washroom and leaned her head against the wall, just enjoying the silence. She would have to talk to her parents tomorrow, so she would soak up these precious few minutes of being alone. A door creaked open.
"Emma?" Emma looked round. Her dad was looking round the door of his bedroom. She smiled at him.
"Hello." Charming felt relief wash over him. It was always tense waiting to see how long Emma would be out for after an outburst. He went over to Emma and pulled her into a hug.
"How are you feeling, baby?" He asked her.
"A little sore still." Emma admitted. "But ok."
"I'm not surprised you feel sore. That was quite a big one, huh?" Emma stayed silent, not wanting to talk about it, or why it had happened. Charming knew that was why she wasn't answering, so didn't push her on it. Not tonight, anyway. "Does your mom know you're up?" Emma shook her head.
"No. She's sleeping. I just woke up." Emma explained. Charming nodded. He suspected Emma leaving would have probably woken her up.
"Come on then, I'll walk you back to your room." He told her. Emma rolled her eyes.
"Dad, I can see my room from here. You don't need to do that." She pointed out.
"Even so." Charming said, sticking to it. "Come on." Emma sighed, but allowed her dad to walk her to the door, kiss her forehead, and push it open. Sure enough, inside, Snow was getting out of bed, looking concerned. She relaxed somewhat when she saw Emma and Charming at the door.
"She's just up." Charming told her. "She just went to the washroom." Snow nodded and came over. She crouched down so she and Emma were eye level and took her daughter's hands.
"How are you feeling?" She asked her. Emma gave her the same answer she gave her father. Snow frowned and felt her forehead, ignoring the horrified look Emma gave her.
"You're a little hot, but nothing compared to what you were straight after it happened. We'll see how you are in the morning. Come on, there's still plenty of time for you to sleep." Snow stood up again and walked over, making sure Emma got into bed and pulled the duvet up to her chin. She then walked round the other side and got back into bed with her.
"Wait, aren't you going back with dad?" Emma asked.
"No." Snow said simply. "I'm staying here to make sure there aren't any problems through the night." Emma began to feel her face heat up.
"There's really no need…"
"Even so." Snow said, settling down. "Sleep well, baby. I'm here if you need me." Emma looked pleadingly over at her dad, but he just smiled. He had expected Snow to do that, and wasn't sure why Emma didn't.
"Good night, ladies. I'll see you both in the morning. Sweet dreams."
"Night daddy." Emma murmured. Charming smiled at her. When she was tired, it was so easy to see under that tough, teenage exterior, she was still a little girl. His little girl.