Emma grabbed the worn paper card, her hands tracing the message it contained, over and over again.

"Dear Em, Happy 19th Birthday. I will love you forever. Love, Neal"

Anger coursed through her veins. He lied! He said he'd always be here for her... everyone ALWAYS left her. "Why did he have to die?" Emma thought to herself, her breath hitching in her throat and her heart breaking all over again. With a loud sob, she threw the card across the living room table, drawing her knees to her chest, hugging herself and rocking back and forth slightly.

"Emma," the melodic voice of her mom rang through the darkness that was the living room. Snow made her way through, quickly followed by Charming who stopped to one side of her. He looked worriedly towards his wife, their baby needed them. Snow wrapped both her arms around Emma's shoulders, drawing her close and placed a kiss to her head.

"What's wrong, baby?" She whispered, watching as her husband sat on the couch, his hands clenching in worry as he looked at his eldest who was breaking down right there in front of them. The strong woman who still had her walls up, who never showed an ounce of weakness, who always had a smile permanently plastered to her face.

"He's gone.. Neal's gone," she explained tearfully. She had purposefully gone home from Granny's early while everyone was celebrating. She had wanted to have a moment to herself but, maybe talking to her parents would help. "I just... I don't understand. How could he just be gone..." Emma let out a huge scream of pain, that her mom and dad visibly winced, heartbroken to see their eldest baby in so much pain.

"Oh darling." Charming whispered, taking her hand in his. At this moment he didn't see a 29 year old woman, he saw a broken hearted child who needed her mom and dad. "I know... it will take a long time to come to terms with this, it's not fair, I know" he wiped a stray tear with his thumb.

Emma's teeth sunk into her lower lip, biting so hard that she drew blood. She focused on her dad's hand and her mother's arms around her to stop herself from lashing out and striking something. Emma had never spoken about just how much Neal had done for her, she gulped a huge breath of air.

"Neal... he was the longest that I was with anyone for. I never stayed at a home for more than 3 months, I just got passed around like I was garbage. Until I met Neal... he got me outta there and I lived with him for 2 years. Until I went to prison," she laughed bitterly.

"Emma Ruth..." Snow gasped, reaching out to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. No wonder why their baby's first instinct in any situation was to run, to never settle. For 14 years, the most amount of time she stayed in one place was 3 months and now, the person who she loved and who had given her stability had died. She bit back her own tears and pulled on her daughters hand. "Come here baby."

Even through her tears she blushed, "Mom..." She was nearly 30 years old, she wasn't going to climb onto her mother's lap.

"Come here," Snow ordered softly. "If I can hold your baby brother then I can hold you. Come here Em,"

Against all her natural instincts, Emma gave in. She so desperately craved her mother and father's affection, the affection she had missed out on her whole life. She let go of her father's hand and settled herself awkwardly on her mom's lap, allowing herself to sink into her arms and weep. All the pain from Neal dying and from her traumatic childhood came out onto her her mother's chest. "Momma..."

"I know baby... I know how much this hurts,' Snow whispered. Her breathing hitched at this new name, 'momma'. She wrapped her arms around her baby tightly, rocking her gently as David pressed kisses to Emma's head and cheek. He stroked her exposed face, his own eyes filling with tears at how much pain his little girl was in.

"You were let down time and time again, sweetheart. It's ok to cry, you've kept this in for so long - this was just the tipping point for you," he cooed softly.

"I was so angry with him for years, I thought... I thought he didn't want me anymore. I thought he found someone else and that's why he let me go to prison and take the fall. It hurts... please make it stop! Daddy, make it go away," she wept.

David's tears really started then. His little girl was begging for him to make her pain go away and he couldn't, he couldn't make it better. His arms reached out of their own accord and he swept Emma up into his arms and hugged her tight.

"If I could take away all your pain then I would, my beautiful girl. I'm here, your momma is here too and we aren't leaving you. Not for a second," He cooed in her ear, shushing and rocking her on his lap as his wife watched on, a feeling of love washing over her.

Emma hugged her dad tight, her sobs and sniffles decreasing as a feeling of safety washed over her, "Daddy..." she hiccuped, clutching his shirt tightly with her hands.

"Shhh... shhh... daddy's here. Daddy has you, you're safe now," he smoothed her hair away from her face and Snow got up to grab some tissues, gently dabbing her daughter's face with them. She rubbed her back softly, the gesture causing Emma to snuggle into their embrace, gently hiccuping as more tears fell.

The pair sat on each side of her and sandwiched her between them, each taking it in turns to soothingly whisper, rock and comfort their eldest. Emma shuddered through her tears, holding on for dear life. Not wanting to be without them for a single moment.


Several hours went by and Charming looked down at his daughter, seeing that she was asleep. He gently nudged his wife and she smiled softly, her eyes filled with love. He scooped Emma up into his arms, like he did all those years ago and gently placed her in their bed, pulling over the blanket and tucking her up. Emma's eyes flickered open, "Please don't leave me...' she whispered.

Snow and Charming laid upon their bed, one on either side of their baby. "Momma and daddy won't leave you for a second baby," Snow soothed gently as Charming wiped the remaining tears off of her swollen face, pressing kisses to her head. Emma nodded, her eyes beginning to close as sleep overtook her, safe in the arms of her parents.