Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, this chapter is going to be long to compensate for my absence.
I believe I said that this chapter was going to be the last one for this fanfic, but is not, the next one will be the last one.
"Just so you know, I haven't watch the videos either so I don't really know what is in them" Emma said as she got up to put the dvd in.
"Why haven't you?" David asked.
"I don't know" Emma said, she knew that a part of her wanted to wait and watch the videos with her parents. Emma sat back down between her parents "ok here we go" Emma said as she took a deep breath and pressed play. Both Snow and David took a deep breath too.
Chapter 21
The video started to play and a young man appeared in the screen "I think it is recording" he said.
"Is the red light on?" A female voice was heard.
"I believe so," the man said as the camera moved and a woman with a baby in her arms appeared.
"So this is you Emma," the man said "this is your first day home with us" the man moved closer to the woman and baby Emma appeared.
Snow and David let out a breath that they didn't know they were holding. Their baby girl was right in front of them.
"My baby" Snow whispered.
The camera focused on baby Emma and she slowly started to open her eyes "oh look she is waking up" the woman whispered "hi, Emma"
Emma moved in the sofa uncomfortable. She knew that those people had given her up when they realized that they were going to have their own kid.
The video continued for a couple of minutes showing little Emma looking up at the two strangers.
Snow didn't know how to feel, she was happy that she finally had the chance to see her baby girl, but at the same time her heart hurt knowing that she never had the chance to hold her baby in her arms for more than five minutes.
The video went blank and both Snow and David turned around giving Emma questioning looks.
Emma pointed back at the TV and a new video was shown. A six-month-old Emma appeared, she was holding the same snow white doll that was currently at the coffee table.
Emma gasped and looked at her mother. Snow smiled back at her daughter and continued to watch the videotape.
"We just got her that doll two weeks ago and she won't leave it out of her sight" the voice of the woman was heard behind the camera "here take this"
The man took the camera and the woman walked up to Emma. Emma smiled up at the woman but she continued to play with her doll's hair. The woman winked at the camera and whispered, "watch this"
The woman took the doll away from Emma carefully not to hurt her. Little Emma looked up at the woman and pouted. "Don't you want to play with mommy instead Emma?"
Emma's lower lip started to quiver and she began to breath rapidly.
"Aww, she looks so cute!" The man said
"Come on Emma, do you like Snow White better than me?" The woman asked as she lowered her face towards Emma.
Little Emma reached her little arms towards the woman. "See she wants me!" The woman said.
The man laughed "I think she wants her doll"
The woman looked down and saw that Emma's arms were reaching towards the doll. "Really Emma? Come on I am your mother"
Emma frowned and let out what could be described as a scream and a cry at the same time. The woman immediately gave the doll back to Emma; the little girl held the doll close to her and gave her a kiss in the head.
"Remind me never to take Snow White away from Emma," the man said as he laughed, "she really loves her"
The woman crossed her arms in pretend annoyance. She looked down at the little girl and said, "You really want Snow White close to you at all times don't you? Good luck to whoever tries to take her away from you"
The TV went blank again.
Emma couldn't help but let a tear fall down her cheek. Someone did take her mother away from her, and she wouldn't let that happen again. She would fight hell if it meant being with her parents.
Snow had tears of her own, she looked at Emma and saw that her daughter was crying. "Oh sweetheart" Snow whispered as she hugged Emma "I know baby, I know" Emma rested her head on her mother's shoulder and let another few tears fall.
"I love you Emma" Snow said as she cleaned her daughter's tears with her thumb. She kissed Emma in the temple and hugged her closer. She wanted Emma to feel safe and loved.
David looked at his girls and rested her hand in Emma's knee. He looked towards the coffee table and reached out to take the Snow White doll.
"Is this the same doll?" He asked
Emma couldn't answer; she knew that she wouldn't be able to speak.
"Yes, it is" Snow answered as she ran her hand up and down Emma's back.
"Wow" David whispered as he held the doll in his hands. This doll was his baby's doll. "Can I keep it?" He said knowing the answer.
Emma immediately let go of Snow and snatched the doll away from David "mine" she said as she hugged the doll.
David smiled, he had received the reaction he was waiting for. Snow looked at David and then at Emma, she smiled knowing that her husband was hoping for that reaction "that was low David" Snow said as she cleaned her tears.
Emma finally realized why her father had asked that. She blushed and sat back at the sofa with her arms crossed. She couldn't believe that she has actually fallen in that trap. Her father wanted to embarrass her?
David looked at Emma sitting back in the sofa with her arms crossed with the doll between her arms. He smiled. Emma looked so young in that position. He couldn't help it, he reached out and tried to take the doll away from her.
Emma uncrossed her arms and grabbed the doll "don't you even dare dad" she said looking at David.
"Sharing is caring Emma" David said as he pulled the doll again.
Emma looked at David and she let go of the doll, she smiled mischievously at him. He wanted her to act like a kid? Well she was going to act like one.
Emma turned around and pouted to Snow "He took my doll" Emma said in what she could beat describe as her kid voice.
Snow smiled at Emma and gave David a harsh look "give her the doll back David"
David knew that Snow was in full mama bear mode but it was too much fun to end it "nah, I am good"
Emma turned her head around and saw that David was hugging the doll to his cheek "It is mine now" he said looking at Emma with a smirk on his face.
Emma raised her eyebrow and turned around towards Snow again. She needed a new strategy, and she knew exactly what to do. "Mama..." Emma whispered looking up at Snow with a little pout on her face. She was actually enjoying this, she felt as if they were making up for lost time.
Snow felt as if her heart could explode right there, her daughter had called her mama. Snow got up and stood in front of David.
David looked at Emma with his mouth open "that was just not fair" he whispered to Emma.
Emma smiled up at Snow, she was in full mama bear mode, she tilted her head and smiled at her dad "you wanted to play this old man" Emma whispered.
"David, give me the doll" Snow said.
David knew that Snow was in full mama bear mode, so he gave her the doll not before sticking his tongue out to Emma. Snow saw this and smacked David in the side of his head "don't" she told him.
David's expression was priceless and Emma began to laugh. Snow sat next to Emma again and gave her the doll back. Emma took the doll and looked at David with a proud smile.
David crossed her arms this time "I see how it is, you have a Snow White doll but not a Prince Charming doll? I never knew my own daughter would do this to me"
Emma opened and closed her mouth.
"There are no prince charming dolls David" Snow said.
"Sorry dad, but the people at Disney focus more on the princesses" Emma said
"So you say," David said pretending to be hurt.
"Oh come on dad! I have your genes, I always liked adventures and I love swords so..."
"You are right Emma, you love me more than you love your mother, that has been proven time after time" David said smiling at Snow.
"She never said that!" Snow protested.
"But she was thinking about it" David said nonchalantly.
"Take that back James!" Snow hissed.
Emma looked from David to Snow, she couldn't deny that it actually felt good to see people fighting to see who she loved more, but she loved both the same.
"I love you both the same and you know that, well I hope you know that"
"We know Emma, your father just likes to annoy people," Snow said winking at David.
Emma smiled at her parents and took a blanket that was on the sofa and she placed it over her body. "Do you guys want to watch more videos?"
"Yes" both Snow and David answered.
Emma looked at her mother and gave her a shy smile. Snow wrapped an arm around her daughter and Emma rested her head in Snow's shoulder again, she took the blanket and covered both of them with it.
"Do you want some of the blanket dad?" Emma asked her father.
"No Emma, thanks" David said looking at his two girls.
"OK cool then...here we go again," Emma said as she pressed play again.
The video started again and a little one-year-old Emma appeared, she had a pink little princess dress on. Emma was sitting in the woman's lap and she was attentively looking somewhere.
Emma opened her eyes wide regretting not watching the videos before showing them to her parents.
Both Snow and David let out a "aww"
"Shut up" Emma said embarrassed.
"What are you two watching?" The man behind the camera asked as he moved closer to Emma.
Little Emma turned around and smiled up at the camera. "Snow white and the seven dwarfs... Again" the woman said.
"So as you can see Emma, you still love Snow White," the man said as he focused the camera on Emma.
Emma smiled and smuggled closer to her mother. She was a little embarrassed when she saw herself in a puffy pink dress but she knew that this meant a lot to her parents. Snow smiled when she felt Emma snuggling closer to her.
"Oh here is her favorite part," the woman said "when prince charming appears and sings to Snow"
Little Emma's eyes dilated when she saw prince charming singing to Snow White, she began to bubble and clap her hands.
Emma shook her head and covered herself with the blanket. Snow let out a laugh and looked at David who had tears in his eyes.
"I knew you like me better," David said trying to make Emma feel less awkward.
Emma lowered the blanket and gave her father a charming smile.
"David, if you want to sleep in the bed you better stop saying that" Snow warned David
"Ok" David said smiling at Snow and winking at Emma "she likes me better tho" David murmured jokingly.
"Yeah sure, keep telling yourself that" Snow said and she wrapped another arm around Emma bringing her closer to her.
"Really guys? Again?" Emma said with a little chuckle.
A new clip started to play and Emma was about two years old. She was wearing a light blue puffy dress again.
Emma let out a groan, "what is with this people and dresses?"
"Oh, you look so cute Emma" Snow said as she ran her hand in Emma's hair. Emma was getting a little sleepy now thanks to her mother's hand playing with her curls. She always wondered how it would feel to have a mother who would do that, and now she knew, and it was amazing.
"We watching Snow White!" Emma said excitedly.
"Oh really?" The man said pretending to be surprised.
"Yeah and Emma is really exited because prince charming is going to sing with Snow White" the woman said.
Little Emma blushed and shrugged.
A man singing voice was heard and little Emma's smile widened.
"I don't know how to feel about this," the man behind the camera said.
The woman laughed and paused the DVD, a screen shoot of prince charming stayed in the TV "look Emma your prince"
Little Emma smiled and jumped off the sofa and walked towards the TV. She smiled and kissed prince charming cheek.
"Emma!" The man said with a little laugh "you shouldn't be kissing boys"
"He is my prince!" little Emma said and she kissed the TV again.
"He is so charming isn't he?" The woman said smiling at Emma.
"Yes, he is sooo charming! And he is my prince charming" Emma said jumping up and down.
"I thought I was your prince," the man said
"No, he is my prince!" Emma said pointing at the prince charming in the TV.
The woman pressed play again and prince charming began to sing making Emma clap and laugh in delight.
Emma looked at the TV wide eyed, she had kissed Prince Charming when she was two years old, she had said that he was her prince. Emma turned tomato red and hide her face in her mother's chest covering herself with the blanket.
Snow smiled at David who had the biggest and brightest smile. "Emma?" Snow whispered as she tried to take the blanket off Emma.
Emma hugged her mother by the waist and kept her head hidden. She knew she should've watched the videos before showing them to her parents.
"Oh come on Emma, it was cute" Snow said trying to control her laugh, "so he is your prince huh?"
Emma let out a groan "mom!"
Snow laughed and winked at David.
"Oh come on princess, can't your prince get a hug?" David said.
Emma let go of her mother and hugged her father resting her head on his chest. David smiled and hugged his baby girl back.
"Thank you for showing us this Emma" David said as he kissed Emma's temple.
"If you tell anyone about this..." Emma said
"Oh come on Emma! Of course we want to tell people about this. They need to know that I was your prince first...your pirate should know that" David said as he continued to hold his not so little girl in his arms.
"Dad!" Emma whined "you can't go around the town telling everybody about this!"
"Ok, what if we make a deal?" Snow said "we will only tell this to our closest friends"
"No!" Emma said as she turned around to see her mother "I have a reputation you know"
Snow frowned and crossed her arms.
Emma looked at her father as if asking him what was going on with Snow.
"Oh, she is getting mad" David laughed.
"Guilt does not work with me mom," Emma said as she crossed her arms too.
David laughed looking at the stubborn woman that he loved so very much.
Snow looked at Emma and then looked away in the other direction. Emma looked at her father and David only shrugged.
"Ok, I want to see how long can you stay without talking to me" Emma challenged with a little smile.
Snow bit her lower lip trying not to smile, she could do this right?
Emma smiled at her father "let's make a deal, how long do you think she is going to last?"
"Well she is really stubborn but she loves you so I say three minutes?"
"Nah" Emma said smiling, she knew her mother and she also knew how to get what she wanted "less than a minute"
"You two are so full of yourselves," Snow said.
Emma smiled and whispered at her father "watch this"
"Mama?" Emma said.
Snow turned around immediately and Emma gave her a charming smile. Snow let out a laughed "that wasn't fair at all"
Emma laughed and settled back in the middle of the sofa "I actually chose this video because it said that it were random videos" Emma explained to her parents "umm...because there is this other one of all my first"
Snow looked at David and they shared a look "what do you mean?" David asked.
"You know, my first word, my first step, things like that...I guess" Emma said looking down at the Snow White in her lap "I thought this videos would be less emotional but I was wrong" Emma said with a little laugh "I just feel emotionally drained right now"
"We can finish watching them another day," Snow suggested.
"No, I am good" Emma said as she moved closer to David and rested her head on his shoulder. David smiled and wrapped an arm around Emma's shoulders.
Snow wrapped Emma in the blanket again and kissed her temple.
"Ok, then let's keep watching my baby" Snow said.
"Don't call me that mom" Emma whined as she snuggled closer to David.
"I feel so left out right now" Snow smiled looking at David and Emma.
Emma smiled and extended an arm towards her mother. "Come here princess"
Snow smiled and moved closer to Emma. They intertwined their hands and Snow rested her head on Emma's arm.
They continued to watch the videos. There were videos of little Emma singing in the tub and videos of her playing or running around in the park. Emma had fallen asleep in her father's arms by the time the first DVD ended.
"So cute" Snow whispered as she saw that Emma was asleep.
David looked down and smiled too, he kissed Emma's head and whispered to Snow "should we wake her up?"
"She looks comfortable there, we should let her sleep" Snow said knowing well that David needed this as much as Emma "we should let her sleep with her prince"
David smile grew bigger "I can't believe we saw our little girl, and the fact that she liked us...that is just everything"
"Well she liked the cartoon version of us, but it still means everything" Snow said as she let go of Emma's hand and stood up "I will go check on Neal"
David nodded and hugged his girl with both her arms. Emma smiled in her dreams and snuggled closer to David. About twenty-five minutes passed and Emma began to open her eyes slowly. She was disoriented for a second, the only thing she knew was that she felt safe.
Emma looked up and saw David smiling down at her.
"Shit" Emma whispered embarrassed, she had fallen asleep in her father's arms. She moved away from her father and sat back in the sofa next to him.
"Don't get embarrassed Emma" David told Emma with a reassuring smile.
"Where is mom?" Emma asked trying to change the subject.
"She went upstairs to check on Neal, I think she is still there"
Emma nodded and checked the time "why don't we go and get some sleep?"
"It's already five in the morning" David pointed out.
"We can still sleep for at least another three hours...as sheriff I am giving ourselves the day off tomorrow"
"Today"
"What?" Emma said sleepy as she got up from the sofa "oh, yeah today"
David also stood up "sleep well princess"
Emma hugged David and whispered "good night dad" she let go of David and walked towards her room.
Emma walked inside her room and saw that Hook was looking at her with a grin.
"What are you doing awake at this hour?"
"Waiting for the princes," Hook said winking at Emma.
Emma let out a groan and climbed into the bed next to Killian who immediately hugged her close to him. Emma rested her head on Killian's chest and wrapped her arm around his waist.
"So you knew who your parents were even before you knew the truth?" Killian asked.
"You watched the videos?" Emma asked looking up at Killian.
"I just wanted to know where you were" Killian explained "and then I saw you all cuddle up with your mother"
Emma blushed.
"Oh come on Love, you don't need to be embarrassed. I am glad that you work things out with them"
Emma smiled and realized that she actually earned the right to be able to cuddle up with her parents. She grew up without parents and now that she had parents who loved her, she should take advantage of that.
"I am happy too," Emma said as she moved up and kissed Killian tenderly in the lips
"I love you Killian"
"I love you more Swan" Killian said as he held Emma in her arms "sleep now"
Emma snuggled up in Killian's arms and she fell asleep again.
Emma woke up and found herself alone in the bed, she checked the clock and it read 10:30. She decided that sleeping for another thirty minutes wouldn't hurt anyone.
She fell asleep again but after ten minutes she heard something. She looked around her and didn't see anybody, then she looked to her left and she saw that the blanket was being pulled off. She smiled knowing who it was.
Emma sat up and moved to the left of the bed, and there he was, her little brother was in his baby walker looking up at her.
"Hey buddy" Emma said "did somebody send you to wake me up?"
Neal smiled and reached his arms towards Emma. Emma picked him up and she lay in the bed again with Neal secure in her arms. "Come on buddy, let's sleep for a little longer"
Neal sat next to Emma and began to touch her face.
"Really" Emma said with her eyes closed and a smile in her face "so you don't want to cuddle? You want to fight?"
Neal began to bubble louder and he rested his head on Emma's shoulder. Emma wrapped her arm around Neal and Neal cuddled closer to Emma.
"This is better right? We can spend all day like this" Emma said.
"Or you can get up and do something productive" Snow said as she leaned against the door with her arms crossed.
Emma took the blanket and covered herself and Neal with it. Neal laughed happily making Emma giggle.
Snow smiled watching her two kids together. She sat next to Emma in the bed and took the blanket off.
"Can't a girl get a few more minutes of sleep?" Emma asked looking up at her mother.
"Its 11:50 Emma" Snow laughed "come on Neal, let's wake up your sister"
Neal looked at Snow and then at Emma and he snuggled closer to Emma.
Emma laughed at her mother's reaction and closed her eyes again kissing Neal's head.
Snow smiled and climbed in the bed next to Neal "if you can't fight them, join them"
Emma opened one eye and smiled at her mother "ten more minutes and then you can wake me up...make it fifteen"
Snow moved closer to her children and embraced them both the best she could. She felt as if her heart could burst with happiness. She was hugging both her children.
Emma smiled when she felt her mother embarrassing her, she couldn't believe how fast their relationship had changed, but at the same time she thought that they had waited enough time to be a normal family.
Emma fell asleep again feeling secure and happy next to her little brother and mother.
Twenty minutes passed and Emma was still sleeping. Neal was sitting between his big sister and mother; he placed a hand on Emma's cheek.
"Neal, let your sister sleep for a little longer" Snow told Neal "she wakes up cranky if you wake her up"
Emma heard that last part and she mumbled something, she opened her eyes and saw Neal smiling at her.
"Are you hungry Emma? Do you want me to make you some breakfast?" Snow asked.
"Yes and yes please" Emma said, "where is Dad?"
"He, Killian and Henry went to the stables. They were going to do some horse riding and sword fighting" Snow said as she stood up "if you want we can go with them"
"I just want some coffee and food" Emma grumbled and stood up taking Neal in her arms.
Snow prepared Emma some coffee scrambled eggs and pancakes. Emma was eating when her phone buzzed; she opened it and saw a text message from Angelica. She smiled down at the phone and answered her right away.
"Who was that?" Snow asked when she saw her daughter smiling down at her phone.
Emma looked up "oh it was just Angelica"
"Oh ok" Snow said as she got up from the table to go and clean the kitchen. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Angelica.
Emma knew that her mother was jealous of Angelica; she also knew how it felt to be jealous. "Are you ok mom?" Emma asked as she was finishing her coffee.
Snow looked at Emma and smiled "of course I am, why wouldn't I be?"
Emma raised and eyebrow to her mother "well your aura changed when I mentioned Angelica"
"Oh so you can read auras now?" Snow said with a little laugh.
"Mom" Emma said in a serious tone.
Snow knew that her relationship with her daughter was better than ever and that she could really tell her everything. But at the same time Snow didn't want to sound like a clingy and needy person.
"Mom, just tell me what is bothering you" Emma insisted, she knew that her mother was hiding something.
Snow let out a breath and turned around to face Emma "The day at the forest. When I was practicing archery and you and Angelica were walking towards me...you said 'but I love you mom' and...listen I am not saying that you shouldn't call her mom, if you want to call her that I will understand. I just..." Snow explained "do you really consider her your mother?"
Emma couldn't help but let out a laugh, her mother was so wrong about what Angelica meant to her.
Snow didn't understood why her daughter laughed so she turned around and continued to clean the kitchen.
"Shit" Emma whispered when she saw her mother turning around. Her laugh must've sound as if she was laughing at her mother.
Emma walked up to Snow and whispered "sorry"
"Don't worry about it Emma" Snow said turning around and giving Emma a little smile "I understand. You grew up with her and of course you see her as a mother. That was a stupid question"
"No it wasn't. It was a fair question. Sorry I laughed but you couldn't be more wrong. Yes, she was a really nice person, she was kind to me and I learned to love her. I love her. But I never loved her as a mother. We even talked about this before she left, we see each other as friends or aunt and niece, but not as mother and daughter. And what you heard in the forest was me imitating one of Angelicas niece, she used to say that to her mother after an argument" Emma explained and took her mother's hands in her own "I never loved anyone as a mother...I guess I was waiting for you to take your place. I was saving that piece of my heart to you. My mother."
Snow smiled and hugged Emma tight "you have no idea how much this means to me" Snow said with a broken voice.
Emma hugged her mother back "I am glad I found you mom"
"I will never let you go again," Snow promised her daughter.
"And I will never leave again" Emma hugged her mother tighter; she didn't want to let her go ever again. Snow started to move as is she was dancing with Emma.
Emma let out a little laugh and began to dance with her mother. Then an idea occurred to her. She gasped and let go of her mother.
"What?" Snow asked.
Emma smiled at her mother and took out her phone. She began to walk out of the kitchen.
"Emma what is going on?" Snow asked as she followed her daughter.
Emma wondered if she should tell her mother her idea. "Umm, I forgot that I had something to do today"
"What?"
"You know stuff"
"What stuff?" Snow looked suspiciously at her daughter.
Emma stopped and turned around to look at her mother "you are such a mom, mom"
Snow smiled proudly
"I have to do something with...Regina" Emma lied.
Snow didn't believe her daughter, she knew that Emma was up to something.
"Ok, I get it" Snow said.
Emma knew that her mother didn't believe her. "I will take a shower and then...I will go and do the thing..."
Snow looked incredulously at Emma "Sure, sure. Do you want me to go with you?"
"No!...I mean no thanks. It will be quick, I just need to..." Emma didn't know what to say, now that she thought about it, this was the first time she had lied to her mother.
"If you don't want to you don't have to tell me Emma, just don't lie ok?" Snow said smiling at Emma, she turned around and walked back to the kitchen.
Emma felt a little bad about lying to her mother but at the same time she knew that her mother would like what she was planning. Emma took a fast shower and headed out to Granny's. She told her mother that she was going to be at Regina's doing something.
Emma walked into Granny's and saw that the girls were waiting for her in a booth.
"Thanks for meeting me here" Emma said as she sat down next to Regina "first of all, I want to apologize if I seemed rude yesterday"
"Don't worry about it Emma" Belle said smiling warmly at Emma.
"So why did you ask us to meet you here?" Regina asked looking at Emma.
"I want to ask you guys for a favor," Emma said shyly.
"What kind of favor?" Red said
"I wouldn't ask you for help, but I don't really know much about the subject" Emma explained "and I am sure you know a lot about...that"
"Oh you are nervous" Regina smiled noticing Emma's body language "this is going to be good"
"But first you have to promise me that you won't tell my parents" Emma said.
"This is getting better and better" Regina laughed.
"Sorry Emma" Red said "I don't really..."
"Is nothing bad, I promise" Emma told Red "me and my parents are actually good...we are great. I just wanted to do something for my dad"
"I already lost my interest in this" Regina said taking a drink of her coffee
"What is it Emma? We will help" Belle said
"Well, the things is that...I said something to my dad, something hurtful and it hurt him...like a lot. I know he doesn't really show it but I know that I hurt him and I never really meant to hurt him but I was upset and..."
"Oh for gods sake! Just get to the point," Regina said
"Regina!" Belle said giving Regina a scolding look "please continue Emma"
"Ok the thing is that I basically blamed him for not being there for the father daughter dances. And I got and idea this morning, you know to make it up to him"
"I like where this is going!" Red said excitedly.
Emma took a deep breath "I want to have a dance so I could dance with him"
Red let out a happy squeal
"You mean a ball? You, Emma Swan , dancing in a ball?" Regina asked incredulously.
Emma flushed a little bit "yes, I want to have a...ball. Is the lest I could do after putting him trough all that"
Regina was taken aback but she smiled at Emma "you must really love him"
"I am totally in" Red said
"Me too" Belle said "it will be good to have a ball"
"I guess I am in too," Regina said.
"Oh my god! This is going to be so good!" Red said excitedly "you have no idea how much this will mean to your parents. Me and your mother actually talked about your fist ball before you were born"
"Aww how sweet" Regina said sarcastically "so when do you want to have the ball?"
"I don't even know how to organize one. That's why I am asking you guys for help," Emma said.
"Oh don't worry about it Emma, we will help you with everything" Belle said
"We could have it at the school Gym, is big enough for everyone" Regina suggested.
"Yes! Me and Belle and the other girls could decorate it as if we were in the enchanted Forest" Red said "and we could go and shop for the dress and everything"
"I don't want neither my mom nor my dad to know anything about this until that day". Emma said.
"You know what will make your mother really happy?," Regina said "if you let her help you get ready for the ball. I remember that she told me that she used to love when her mother would help her with her hair and her dress, and that she couldn't wait to have a daughter to share that moment with her"
Emma smiled at Regina "yes, that would be awesome, so we need to get both my mother and my father the appropriate clothing"
"Don't worry about that, I have plenty of gowns in the shop" Belle said
"And I know what your father and mother like so I can help you chose their clothes" Red said "and we will tell everyone to come"
"But please tell them that they can't tell my parents, I really want to surprise them" Emma said.
"Oh don't worry we will make sure that nobody will tell them anything" Belle assured Emma "so when are you planning to do this?"
"How long does it take to plan everything?" Emma asked.
"Well I can actually help decorate...with magic" Regina told Emma "and you can help with that too"
"Ok, great. The faster the better, because I am starting to get cold feet about this" Emma said with a little laugh. She realized that she was going to have to wear a dress and dance in front of people.
"This weekend" Red said "we can prepare everything by this weekend. We can ask the dwarfs to help"
"Ok then we will do it this weekend" Emma said taking a deep breath in.
"It is sweet that you are doing this for them Emma" Belle said "I am sure they will appreciate it a lot"
"Oh I hope so! I really don't see myself wearing a dress..." Emma said
"Oh is not only about the dress, is the heals and the corset and the fact that all eyes are going to be on you" Regina said smiling at Emma "and since you are hosting the ball you will have to make a speech in front of everyone, thanking them for their presence and..."
Emma went pale "please stop"
Regina laughed at Emma's expression.
"Regina!" Red said "don't worry about that Emma, I will help you with everything. You don't have to give a speech or anything"
"Thanks" Emma said relieved
Red looked that grumpy was just a few booths away from them so she called him and explained everything to him.
"Of course we will help" Grumpy said, "just tell us what you want and we will build it"
"Thank you so much Leroy" Emma said. Her phone buzzed and she saw that it was a text from her mother. "Oh great"
"Who is it?" Red asked
"My mom, she wants to know where I am" Emma said as she answered her mom that she was at Regina's
"Does the princess have a curfew?" Grumpy asked with a little laugh.
Regina laughed, "Should we escort you home princess?"
Leroy and Regina began to laugh louder at Emma's reaction.
They heard the doorbell and Snow and David walked in. Snow saw that Emma was sitting with the girls and frowned. She had just received the message saying that Emma was at Regina's.
Snow walked up to Emma "Emma? I thought you were at Regina's"
Emma jumped when she heard her mothers voice, she turned around and smiled at her mother "I said that I was with Regina" Emma said trying to cove up her lie.
Snow raised an eyebrow at Emma and looked around everyone in the table. She felt as if something was going on with them.
"So you guys are having lunch together?" David asked also looking at everyone.
"Well we are discussing some city projects" Regina told Snow and David "that is why I need them all here"
"Grumpy too?" Snow asked
"Yes Snow, I just don't see myself building the new school library," Regina said.
"Sure" David said, "anyways we are here to get something to eat"
"Where is Neal?" Red asked trying to change the subject.
"He is with Killian and Henry" Snow told red
"First you hire the wicket witch as your nanny and now you leave your child with a pirate?" Regina said "remember me never to ask you for parenting advice"
Grumpy laughed.
"You are supposed to be in my side!" Snow told Grumpy.
"Sorry sister" Grumpy said.
"Anyways we will go and order" Snow said before walking to the counter.
"She didn't believe us" Regina whispered, "believe it or not she is kind of smart"
"She outsmarted you a lot of times Regina" Red said defending her friend "but I also think that she didn't believe us"
"It doesn't matter, we only have to keep this a secret for two more days" Emma whispered, "we can do that, right?"
"We are not the ones living with her," Regina pointed out.
"Oh don't worry I know how to handle her" Emma said.
Snow and David ordered their food and walked back to the girls.
"Are you going to have lunch with them Emma? Or do you want us to order you something to go too?" David asked "Henry want us to have a little picnic in the front yard"
"Oh, yeah no thanks. I think we still have more things to discuss about the project," Emma said looking up at her father.
"Why do you need the sheriff for a school project?" Snow asked Regina.
"Safety reasons" Regina said.
"Mom, why are you asking so many questions?" Emma laughed
"Nothing, sorry. Keep going with your planning" Snow said.
Snow and David sat at the booth behind Emma.
"They are hiding something," Snow whispered to David.
"I know" David whispered back.
"So what else do we need to do?" Emma asked the others.
"Well, we will get the...books from Belle" Regina said emphasizing the word books so the other would know that she was talking about the dresses "do you have enough books?"
"Oh yes, I have plenty so the...children could choose" Belle said.
"Great so Belle you are in charge of the books, Grumpy and the dwarfs are in charge of building it, and Red maybe you could help by telling people about it?" Emma said "and me and Regina will do all the...paper work"
Everybody nodded understanding what Emma meant.
"You can call or text me if you need help" Emma told them.
"Sure, we will" Belle said with a little smile "we can actually take it from here. You can go with your parents if you want to"
"Yes Emma, we will take care of everything" Red said winking at Emma.
"Ok, thank you. Please text me if you need me" Emma said as she got up.
"Will do sister" Grumpy said.
Emma walked to her parents booth and sat down next to her father. "I will go with you guys, granny will put my order with yours"
"Great!" David said smiling at Emma.
Emma looked at her mother and noticed that she was giving her a strange look.
"What is it?" Emma asked Snow.
"Nothing" Snow said looking down.
"Sure" Emma answered.
Granny gave them their food and Emma and her parents got in the car. There was an awkward silence in the car.
"So how is the library project going?" David asked
"The what?" Emma asked, she was distracted looking out the window thinking about the ball.
Snow let out a laugh and shook her head. Now she knew that Emma was indeed lying to them.
"Oh yes, it is going well" Emma said
"Do you need me to help you with anything?"
"Oh no thanks, we are good"
They got to the house and Killian and Henry were already setting the little picnic.
Emma walked out of the car and immediately walked towards Henry and Killian; she didn't want her parents to ask any more questions.
"The food is here," David announced.
"Thank good!" Henry said, "I am starving"
"So what did you guys do this morning?" Emma asked
"Some boy stuff" Henry explained as he took Neal out of the baby walker and sat him down at the blanket.
"Boys stuff? What is that supposed to mean?" Snow asked.
"You know, sword fighting, horse riding, thinks like that" Henry said.
"Well those are not boy stuff kid, women do that too you know" Emma said
"Gramps said that boys were better at it than girls so" Henry said giving David an innocent smile.
"Dude!" David said
Both Snow and Emma looked at David.
"I can crush you like a bug" Snow told David "and you know that"
"Oh my good grandma! The other day we were playing video games and Grandpa said that he was better than you at swo..." Henry couldn't finish because David covered his mouth.
Emma and Hook laughed knowing what David had said about Snow and her abilities at sword fighting.
"Let him speak David!" Snow hissed
David let go of Henry "I can't believe my own grandson would do something like this"
"What did he said Henry?" Snow asked her grandson.
"Nothing, forget it grandma"
"Henry" Snow said using her teacher tone.
"He said that he was better than you at sword fighting" Henry blurted out.
"He did?" Snow said raising an eyebrow.
"He was just joking mom," Emma said trying to save her father "we were just playing you know"
"Sure, just playing" Snow said as she sat down next to Neal in the blanket.
They all sat down at the blanket. Emma was between Hook and Henry and in front of them were David and Snow. Neal was sitting in Snow's lap.
"So Henry" Snow asked "Are you happy about the new library at school?"
Henry looked up and frowned "what?"
Snow smiled mischievously at Emma. "Oh you didn't know?"
Henry saw the exchange between mother and daughter "oh yeah the library! My mom told me about it"
Emma let out a breath, thank good she had a smart son.
"Who told you about it?" David asked "Regina or Emma?"
Henry looked at her mother and a silence conversation passed between them "Regina"
"I just learned about that it today" Emma explained.
"I didn't really understood what they were going to do" David said, knowing that Snow wanted to get the truth, in reality he wanted to know the truth too "so why don't you tell us Henry?"
"Gramps, I don't want to think about school right now" Henry complained. He knew that her mother must be hiding something from her parents.
Killian picked up the situation "What are they doing love?"
"Oh you know, we are going to remodel the library," Emma explained.
Henry knew that the library had been remodeled no long ago, he looked at Emma and smiled, knowing that her mother was planning something.
"Can we please stop talking about the library!? I am on vacation and you are not supposed to think about school right now" Henry said.
Snow still had a feeling that Emma was lying to her. They continued eating and from time to time Emma would notice that her mother would stare at her suspiciously.
Emma's phone rang and she saw that it was as Red, she excused herself and walked inside the house. Red wanted to know if they should decorate only the inside of the gym or the path that lead to the gym too. Emma decided that it will be good if they decorated the outside of the gym too.
"So, maybe we should start by finding you a dress?" Red said "or maybe we can select a few that you like and you can make the final decision with Snow?"
"Yes, I think she would like to help me pick the dress" Emma said "I can't believe I am doing this! She knows that I am hiding something, and she keeps looking at me weird. I feel that if she looks at me long enough she will know"
Red laughed "Yes, your mother can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but she doesn't like when people lie to her. So maybe just avoid the subject so you don't have to lie to her"
"Oh it is easier said that done! She is a control freak!" Emma laughed "and she sees right trough me"
"Yes, she does that" Red laughed
"But is going to be worth it...I hope"
"They will love it!" Red assured Emma "do you know what song do you want to play for the father daughter dance?"
In that moment Snow walked in and saw that Emma was lying in the sofa with her arm covering her eyes.
"Not really...oh good this is harder than I thought! What did I get myself into" Emma whined, "do I have to find one?"
"Or we can chose one for you if you want, or it can be just a waltz" Red said
Snow walked towards the kitchen to leave the left over there, she walked back to the living room and saw Emma in the exact same position.
"I don't know, what do you think?" Emma asked Red.
"I think it will be more special if you chose the song"
Emma let out a breath "I will chose it then" she sat up in the sofa and saw her mother standing in front of her. Emma jumped a little and almost droped the phone. She caught the phone in mid air.
"What was that noise?" Red asked
Emma sat still in the sofa "oh nothing, just my mother scaring the crap out of me"
"Oh my god, did she heard anything?" Red asked.
"No, no..." Emma said "anyways, I will do that and I will call you for your opinion"
"Ok great, and if you want to you can chose a song for the mother daughter dance too." Red said.
"Oh so there are two?" Emma asked looking at her mother who had her arms crossed.
"Well if you want to, is up to you," Red said
"Ok cool, I will do it...I will call you if I need anything, and you can call me if you need anything" Emma said before hanging up.
"Is not ok to listen to others people's phone calls" Emma told Snow a little annoyed.
Snow uncrossed her arms "sorry, is everything ok? Do you need help with anything?"
"No, I am good" Emma said as she stood up.
"I don't like when people lie to me Emma" Snow said
Emma turned around "and I don't like when people question me"
"I am not questioning you"
"Why are you acting like this!?" Emma said raising her voice a little bit.
Snow blinked and took a steep back "sorry, I won't ask you anything anymore...I just wanted to make sure that you were alright" Snow walked towards the front door and walked out of the house.
Emma took a deep breath this was going to be harder than she thought. She walked out towards the front yard and saw that Hook and Henry were sword fighting with some wooden swords, Snow and David were in the porch steps and David had Neal in his lap. Emma passed through her parents and gave them a little smile.
Emma walked towards the boys, she needed to tell them her plan so they could help her out.
"I need to tell you guys something, but act cool as if I wasn't telling you anything important" Emma told the boys as they continued sword fighting.
Henry looked at her mother suspiciously and nodded "is this about the fake library thing?"
"Yes, kind of" Emma said.
Henry looked towards her grandparents and saw that they were looking directly at them "Ok mom is your turn!" Henry said giving Emma the sword.
"Wait what?" Emma said as she took the wooden sword.
"They are looking at us now mom, maybe we can talk about it later?" Henry told Emma.
"Text Regina, she will tell you" Emma said as she walked towards Hook with the sword.
Henry nodded and took out his phone to text Regina.
"I don't want to hurt you pirate," Emma told Killian.
"Maybe I want you to hurt me" Killian winked
"I am right here!" Henry protested and he walked towards his grandparents.
Emma and Hook laughed.
"I don't want to sword fight" Emma said, "I am freaking out right now, and this won't help"
"What is going on love?" Killian asked as he took Emma's sword.
Emma took Hook's hand and they both walked towards the garage, making it seemed as if they were only going to leave the swords there.
"I am organizing a ball" Emma whispered to Killian.
"A what?" Hook asked surprised.
"A ball, you know dancing and stuff"
"I know what a ball is, but you are organizing a ball? You? Emma Swan?"
"Well it's not for me , It's for my dad"
"Yeah sure" Hook smiled
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, I am just impressed of how thoughtful you are being. So the little thing about the library was some kind of cover up"
"Yes, wait how do you know?"
"I am a pirate love, I know when someone is trying to cover something up" Killian said as he hugged Emma by the waist.
"A really handsome pirate by the way" Emma said wrapping her arms around Killian's neck "so are you going to help me with the ball?"
"What will I receive in return?" Killian asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Wherever you want" Emma said as she brushed her lips against Killian's.
"I want a dance with the princes" Killian kissed Emma tenderly in the lips.
"Done" Emma said as she ended the kiss "the only problem is that my parents suspect that I am hiding something from them"
"Don't worry about that, me and the lad will help you with them. I have to be honest I think your mother will be harder to fool"
"Tell me about it" Emma said with a little laugh "she mean no harm though, she only worries about me"
"That's cute"
"Yeah, my mom is kind of a control freak, but I know how to handle her" Emma told Killian who suddenly was looking behind Emma with wide eyes.
Emma closed her eyes knowing who was behind her.
Snow had come to the garage to get Neal's teddy bear that she had forgotten in the car. She only heard the last part about her smothering Emma and being a control freak. She walked towards the car and got the teddy bear.
Emma turned around and saw her mother reaching up for the toy. She knew that her mother had heard the last part.
Snow took the toy and closed the door of the car; she turned and gave Emma a little smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Sorry if I interrupted something, Neal wants his toy" and with that Snow turned around and walked away.
"Shit, shit, shit" Emma said over and over again.
"That was awkward" Hook said, "she must think that..."
"I know! Shit, I swear she has the worst timing!" Emma said running her hand trough her hair "should I talk to her?"
"What are you going to say?"
"I don't know, I didn't say anything bad, did I?"
"Not if you know the back story. If you just walk in and hear your daughter say that you smother her and that you are a control freak...well that might send the wrong message"
Emma let out a little grunt.
"So when is the ball?"
"In two days" Emma said absently, she was still thinking about what to say to her mother.
"Wow, two days?"
"Belle, Red, Regina and the dwarfs are helping me," Emma said as she walked outside the garage "we are going to do it in the school gym"
"Fancy" Hook said sarcastically
"Oh shut up, we will decorate it and everything"
"Do you have your dress ready?"
"Ugh! Don't even remind me of that. So should I talk to my mom?"
"I don't know, if you want to"
They were at the front steeps now "just help me distract them" Emma told Killian
"Will do"
Emma and Killian walked into the living room and saw that David, Snow and Henry were sitting down. Henry was in front of the TV with some DVDs in his lap and Snow and David were in the large sofa, Neal was in David's lap.
Henry looked up and gave Emma a little smile. Regina had texted him all he needed to know about the ball. "Can we watch a movie mom?"
Emma looked at Snow who was looking down at her phone, she knew that her mother had taken her words the wrong way. "Sure kid, what movie tho?"
"I don't know, maybe we should watch "the conjuring" or "insidious"
"That's not happening kid" Emma laughed "we are used to those type of movies, but my parents aren't"
"And I don't want to watch those bloody movies again" Killian added as he walked towards the other sofa.
"We can take those movies Emma" David said "what types of movies?"
"Scary movies Gramps. You know movies that make you jump and have nightmares at night"
"Yeah, I don't think that's good for Neal" David said
"Yeah blame it on the baby" Henry whispered.
Emma laughed and looked at her mother again who was now looking at Henry with a little smile.
"Why don't we watch back to the future?" Emma said looking at her mother. She remembered that that movie was one of Mary Margaret's favorite movies.
Snow finally looked at Emma and gave her a little smile. Emma let out a little breath that she didn't know she was holding. She really didn't want her mother to be upset at her.
"Yeah sounds good" Henry agreed as he looked for that movie.
Emma sat next to her mother in the sofa, she needed to make sure that her mother wasn't upset at her.
Snow didn't know how to feel about what she had heard her daughter say. A part of her knew that Emma didn't meant to say those words to hurt her but in the other hand she couldn't shake the feeling that her daughter was hiding something from her.
Emma moved closer to Snow until their shoulders were touching each other. "Are you mad at me?" Emma whispered.
Snow looked at her daughter and saw a scared little girl. Snow wrapped her arm around Emma's shoulder bringing her close to her and she kissed her temple.
Emma smiled and rested her head against her mother "you didn't answered me"
"I don't like to be questioned" Snow joked repeating the same words her daughter had told her.
Emma laughed and decided to let that go for now. They will talk about it later. The movie started and within ten minutes Emma's phone began to buzz. Emma took her phone out of her pocket and saw that it was a group text. Since Emma was practically sitting against her mother, she couldn't open the text and read it. She bit her lower lip thinking about what she should do.
Killian saw Emma's reaction and he immediately knew what was going on. "Hey Swan, are you going to leave me here all alone?"
Snow looked at Emma and gave her a little smile "go be with your pirate"
Emma smiled at her mother and got up to sit next to Killian. "Thank you" Emma whispered as she sat next to her pirate. She sat against Killian and began texting with the girls. She learned that preparing a ball required a lot of preparation, she was grateful that she had a lot of people helping her.
David noticed that Emma wasn't watching the movie because she was glued to her phone, he gave Snow a little tap in the shoulder.
Snow looked at David and David pointed at Emma. Snow saw that Emma was with her phone texting without paying attention to the movie. She wondered if this had anything to do with Emma's strange behavior.
Snow decided to ignore that for now and she continued to watch the movie.
"This movie is a classic," Henry said as he stood up to turn off the DVD.
"It was actually really good, it reminded me of Emma time traveling and helping us fall in love" David kissed Snow in the cheek.
"Get a room!" Henry laughed, "so mom did it remind you of your time travel"
Emma was so concentrated in the group text that she didn't hear Henry, she hadn't even noticed that the movie was over. Killian patted her in the ribs and Emma immediately looked up "wait what?"
Snow and David frowned.
"I was just asking if this movie reminded you of your time travel"
"Oh yes, it did. Without the pirates and princesses and the balls and all that crap" Emma said.
"All that crap? Didn't you like it? Come on you have to admit that you had fun at the ball, I saw you. I think you were actually enjoying it" David told Emma.
"She danced with me, of course she enjoyed it" Killian added
"I still can't believe that I didn't dance with you in your first ball" David said looking at his not so little girl. He would've loved to dance with her.
Emma didn't know what to say, in two days she was going to finally dance with her father.
"So these balls are they really as extravagant as they seemed?" Henry asked Snow and David.
"Well most of them are, but to be honest I actually enjoy the most private ones where I actually know everybody" David said.
"So if you had to chose would you rather have a big ball or an intimate one?" Henry asked.
Emma looked at Henry and understood what he was doing. He was actually asking his grandparents their preferences so they could have the best ball ever.
"I would say something in between" Snow said "I do like big balls but I also enjoy the more private ones"
"Oh wow" Henry said pretending to be interested in that "so everybody actually wears dresses and everything?"
"Oh yes"
"Do you like to dress like that gramps?"
"I have to stand next to Snow White, so I had to step it up"
Henry laughed "do you guys have like a favorite dress or gown? You know like I have my favorite jacket that I always wear..."
"Well for me it will have to be the gown that was wearing when I saved your grandmother from the sleeping course"
"And I don't know which one to choose, I like all of them" Snow said.
"Why are you asking all of this Henry?" David asked curiously "do you want to have a ball here? Because you are technically the only one who hasn't been to a ball"
"I am just curious about that stuff" Henry shrugged "Almost every story in my book has a ball"
"I do miss the balls and the dancing" Snow said thoughtfully.
"Well I don't" Emma said nonchalantly "One was enough for me thank you very much"
Snow smiled at Emma, she would love to help her daughter get ready for a ball. Ever since she knew that she was going to have a girl, she dreamed about that special moment.
"Yeah, Emma loves us but just not enough to let us have a ball" Snow joked.
Killian and Henry looked at Emma with big smiles. Emma blushed and looked down.
"I am just joking Emma" Snow said when she saw her daughter's reaction, little did she know that Emma loved them enough to give them the ball they deserved.
"I know mom" Emma said smiling shyly at Snow.
Snow smiled and narrowed her eyes at Emma, her daughter was definitely hiding something.
Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think! :)
If you love the charming family as much as I do, you might what to read my other fic "Stay with me"
Ok for those people who reviewed complaining about Snow...just stop. She was joking with David, that is why she called him "James". Just a friendly reminder...I write what I want to write, if you don't like it just don't read it! And if you want to complain at least post with your name? or make an account and we can talk ;) I swear I am so tired about the Snow hate.