Chapter 20.

"Emma… Emma, would you sit down?" Regina said as she watched the blonde pace the lounge back and forth for minutes on end.

The blonde ignored her, crossing and then uncrossing her arms.

"Emma," Regina spoke more loudly before she stood up and took the woman by the shoulders, "Please…calm down, baby," she placed a hand on the younger woman's cheek, caressing it lightly, "You're working yourself up more, I know you're nervous – "

"Maybe this is a mistake," Emma spoke suddenly, running a hand through her own hair.

Regina sighed, "Honey, it's not… This will be good for you and your parents relationship," she couldn't even believe what she was saying, "You want a relationship with them, I know you do," she continued to run her fingers over Emma's cheek as the other hand held her hands.

Emma let her body start to calm down under her girlfriend's touch, "I do," she admitted as she nodded a little breathlessly, "You're right. I know you're right," she closed her eyes.

"It's okay to be nervous, dear," Regina's fingers moved to blonde hair, "But you're stronger than you give yourself credit for, you'll be fine," she smiled, encouragingly as she moved her hand away.

Emma smiled back, "Thanks," she whispered, "You always know how to make me feel better."

Regina's smile grew, "That's what I'm here for," she kissed Emma's lips, lingering for a moment before she pulled away.

Charming ran his hands over the frame of the wardrobe, shaking his head, staring at it with incredulity in his eyes. He felt both his wife and daughter's stares on him and pulled his gaze away to meet their faces.

"After all this time…" Charming shook his head, "It's just a little overwhelming," he smiled weakly.

Snow grab and squeezed his hand, "It is," she agreed, "But it's also amazing."

Emma raised her eyebrows and bit her lip, "So… Who made this thing anyway?" she asked.

"Gepetto, or you might know him as Marco. He was a carpenter," Charming explained, "He did the most amazing job, and then the magic…. It was the only safe passage that existed out of the Enchanted Forest once the curse was activated."

Emma nodded, "The only safe passage? So…nobody else escaped the curse…other than little, baby me?"

Snow nodded, "That's right," she confirmed, taking a deep breath, "Are you ready to go?"

Emma shrugged, "Sure," she approached the wardrobe, somehow feeling a weird sense of ownership over it, she pried open the doors, ignoring the gasps of her parents behind her, "Yeah, I guess it used to be smaller huh?" she tried to joke, as her mother took her hand.

"So, Regina gave you the tour, right?" Charming asked, as he looked around in wonder, continuing when Emma answered with the affirmative, "I guess it was her castle longer than it was ours… Shall we head to the nursery?"

Emma felt herself tense up but nodded, "Sure," she tried to answer confidently but Snow saw through her façade and took her hand once again, squeezing it.

They finally stood outside the door to the nursery and it was Charming who turned the handle and let it swing open.

"I know it was only a few weeks, but this was your home," he said, putting a tentative hand on Emma's back as she passed into the room.

She walked over to the crib, laying her hands on it gently and looking down into her old bed. She didn't remember it at all; how could she expect to, she'd only been a baby. She picked up a bear from the crib and looked at it closely.

"I don't suppose you would recall anything, you were just a baby, honey," Snow moved beside Emma, laying her hands on the crib too.

"No," Emma shook her head, "I don't," she took a deep breath and played with the mobile hanging above the crib.

"We had a better one actually, we just hadn't put it up… We should probably see if it's Mr Gold's shop," Snow referred to the mobile Emma was spinning.

"He had the wardrobe too," Emma said slowly, "Why does he have all this stuff from the curse?"

Charming frowned, facing his daughter, "We're not sure. There was a bunch of things that seemed to have crossed the realms and settled in his shop. We haven't been through it all yet…"

Emma nodded, "Oh," she held up the teddy bear, "Can I keep this?" she asked.

Charming smiled, "Of course," he nodded, "It's yours."

Emma's lips upturned slightly as she fixed her gaze back on the bear, "Thanks," she said, "And your castle, it's beautiful by the way. I mean, it's just like…" Emma felt stupid, but she still wasn't used to the fact that the phrase fairy tale was a reality now, "Well, it's just beautiful," she finished, "I guess this is where I would have grown up, huh?"

Snow nodded, a sad smile on her face, "You would have."

"Would I be like a princess or something?" Emma asked, frowning.

Snow smiled more, "You would have been our princess, yes," she said with shining eyes.

Emma nodded, "I never liked dresses, much," she muttered, "I probably would have been a pain in the ass for those dances and stuff, it's not exactly my scene," she realized her words were hurting her parents, "I'm sorry," she rushed, "It's just… I mean, maybe it would have been different if I'd grown up here, but…I didn't," she shrugged, "And I was just never that girly."

Snow nodded, "It's okay, don't apologise. Things are the way they are and we can't change them, really there's no use dwelling on the past… though that's often easier said than done."

Emma nodded, "Well, I'm kind of glad for the way things have turned out. I mean, my life hasn't been so bad, a bit rocky I suppose but I'm alright, healthy and I think I'm a pretty decent person, plus I wouldn't have met Regina…or at least, not this Regina..."

"Didn't you miss growing up without parents?" Snow asked in a hushed voice as her husband squeezed her hand.

"Well, I didn't know what it was like to have parents, ever, really. So I didn't really miss it because I never knew it, if that makes sense. I got used to the foster system, which was awful but I got out on my own as soon as I could so I mean, it gave me independence," she shrugged.

Charming took a tentative step forward, "Well, you can know what it's like to have parents now. It's never too late for family, right?" his eyebrows were raised in hopeful question as he looked at his daughter.

Emma hesitated but smiled, "Yeah, it's never too late for family. I guess I did wonder…what it would be like to have the people who made me…around me," she stepped into her fathers waiting arms and felt Snow's arms embrace her too, as she hurriedly wiped tears from her face before pulling away.

"We love you, Emma, never forget that," Snow wiped her own tears away.