p align="center"emSo my first oneshot of how things might have looked different. This one stays pretty similar, my next one is a scene not from the show. If there's something in particular you want to see then let me know!/em/p
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p align="center"It was all a lot to take in. There was so much joy in that moment that both Snow and Charming weren't able to focus on the one person they were both desperate to see again./p
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p align="center""So what now?" Red asked. She, Granny and the dwarves looked to Snow and Charming, their leaders./p
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p align="center""Now," Snow said, making eye contact with her husband. "Now we find our daughter." Both their eyes lit up at the mention of her. They had waited so long to see Emma again./p
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p align="center""About that." Came a voice from behind them. Both the parents turned around, stunned. They couldn't believe they'd been with Emma for weeks now and neither of them had realised. It was so obvious looking at her now. Of course this was their Emma. Both of them took a moment to just take it all in. Her face…it hadn't really changed all that much. In their mind's eye, they could still see the toddler they had put through the wardrobe. That perfect, beautiful little girl. Even although she was all grown up, now. That realisation brought with it a new level of pain, but they had to put that aside for now. Right now, they had to focus on the sheer bliss of finally being reunited with their baby girl./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"Emma stared back at her parents uncomfortably. Now that the curse had been lifted and she had knocked the denial out of herself, she knew exactly who they were. Sure, her memories of them were hazy. After all, she had only been three years old when she last saw them, but it was still undeniably them. Emma didn't know exactly how to feel. On one hand, she was finally getting the family she'd wanted since she'd left the Enchanted Forest. On the other, she still had the rejection of being sent away to deal with as well. She wasn't exactly ready to forgive her parents./p
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p align="center"Snow and David both knew that they were going to have to get to know their daughter all over again. They presumed her interests had changed slightly since she was a toddler. They wanted to know everything about her. Truly, every tiny detail. They could see she wasn't fully comfortable around them yet, and they could respect that. They would do whatever it took to earn her trust back. At that moment, they approached her slowly. They wanted to give her a chance to tell them to back off. When she didn't, neither could resist throwing their arms around her. Emma stiffened into the hold. Even this was strangely familiar. The way her father cradled the back of her head. The smell of her mother's perfume (apparently that hadn't changed here). Emma wanted to feel safe with them, she really did, but she couldn't bring herself to completely relax. She was still angry with them. Whatever their reasons, they sent her away./p
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p align="center""You found us." Her mother said, obviously not totally aware of Emma's inner torment. Emma didn't respond. She was frightened that if she spoke she'd either scream at them or start crying. Neither of which seemed like a good option. Fortunately for Emma, Red wanted in on the action./p
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p align="center""My puppy!" She yelled, breaking up the group hug to get at Emma herself. Snow couldn't help but laugh at her best friend's antics. Emma was now even more alarmed. "How is my goddaughter already an adult? No fair!"/p
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p align="center""Tell me about it, sister." Grumpy grumbled. Emma didn't know how to respond to this either. Of course she now remembered that Red had been her aunt, her godmother even, but unlike them she hadn't been frozen in time for twenty five years. Time had moved on for her. All these people were clearly expecting Emma to act like nothing had changed, like no time had passed and she had never been on her own. Except she had./p
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p align="center""Alright Red, let the girl be. She needs to breathe for crying out loud." Granny said, chuckling. Red pouted, but released her grip on Emma. Emma stumbled back, stiff as a board. Granny smiled at her, but made not attempt to approach any further./p
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p align="center""I can't believe little Emma's done it. She saved us."/p
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p align="center""She saved all of us." Snow reiterated, gazing at her daughter, eyes gleaming with pride. Emma could feel everyone staring at her now. She did not like being the centre of attention./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I…well…" she muttered uncomfortably./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Then why are we still here?" Grumpy asked, saving the day for Emma./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""That my friend, is an excellent question." Charming responded. Emma breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure was off her…for now. She knew at some point her parents were probably going to want to spend more time with her. They would probably want to ask her about the missing years. She wasn't sure how she would cope with that. Right now though, they had a convenient distraction in the form of Regina./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"It was all a lot to take in. There was so much joy in that moment that both Snow and Charming weren't able to focus on the one person they were both desperate to see again./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""So what now?" Red asked. She, Granny and the dwarves looked to Snow and Charming, their leaders./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Now," Snow said, making eye contact with her husband. "Now we find our daughter." Both their eyes lit up at the mention of her. They had waited so long to see Emma again./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""About that." Came a voice from behind them. Both the parents turned around, stunned. They couldn't believe they'd been with Emma for weeks now and neither of them had realised. It was so obvious looking at her now. Of course this was their Emma. Both of them took a moment to just take it all in. Her face…it hadn't really changed all that much. In their mind's eye, they could still see the toddler they had put through the wardrobe. That perfect, beautiful little girl. Even although she was all grown up, now. That realisation brought with it a new level of pain, but they had to put that aside for now. Right now, they had to focus on the sheer bliss of finally being reunited with their baby girl./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"Emma stared back at her parents uncomfortably. Now that the curse had been lifted and she had knocked the denial out of herself, she knew exactly who they were. Sure, her memories of them were hazy. After all, she had only been three years old when she last saw them, but it was still undeniably them. Emma didn't know exactly how to feel. On one hand, she was finally getting the family she'd wanted since she'd left the Enchanted Forest. On the other, she still had the rejection of being sent away to deal with as well. She wasn't exactly ready to forgive her parents./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center"Snow and David both knew that they were going to have to get to know their daughter all over again. They presumed her interests had changed slightly since she was a toddler. They wanted to know everything about her. Truly, every tiny detail. They could see she wasn't fully comfortable around them yet, and they could respect that. They would do whatever it took to earn her trust back. At that moment, they approached her slowly. They wanted to give her a chance to tell them to back off. When she didn't, neither could resist throwing their arms around her. Emma stiffened into the hold. Even this was strangely familiar. The way her father cradled the back of her head. The smell of her mother's perfume (apparently that hadn't changed here). Emma wanted to feel safe with them, she really did, but she couldn't bring herself to completely relax. She was still angry with them. Whatever their reasons, they sent her away./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""You found us." Her mother said, obviously not totally aware of Emma's inner torment. Emma didn't respond. She was frightened that if she spoke she'd either scream at them or start crying. Neither of which seemed like a good option. Fortunately for Emma, Red wanted in on the action./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""My puppy!" She yelled, breaking up the group hug to get at Emma herself. Snow couldn't help but laugh at her best friend's antics. Emma was now even more alarmed. "How is my goddaughter already an adult? No fair!"/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Tell me about it, sister." Grumpy grumbled. Emma didn't know how to respond to this either. Of course she now remembered that Red had been her aunt, her godmother even, but unlike them she hadn't been frozen in time for twenty five years. Time had moved on for her. All these people were clearly expecting Emma to act like nothing had changed, like no time had passed and she had never been on her own. Except she had./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Alright Red, let the girl be. She needs to breathe for crying out loud." Granny said, chuckling. Red pouted, but released her grip on Emma. Emma stumbled back, stiff as a board. Granny smiled at her, but made not attempt to approach any further./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I can't believe little Emma's done it. She saved us."/p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""She saved all of us." Snow reiterated, gazing at her daughter, eyes gleaming with pride. Emma could feel everyone staring at her now. She did not like being the centre of attention./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""I…well…" she muttered uncomfortably./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""Then why are we still here?" Grumpy asked, saving the day for Emma./p
p align="center" /p
p align="center""That my friend, is an excellent question." Charming responded. Emma breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure was off her…for now. She knew at some point her parents were probably going to want to spend more time with her. They would probably want to ask her about the missing years. She wasn't sure how she would cope with that. Right now though, they had a convenient distraction in the form of Regina./p
