Someone requested some Mommy Emma fluff, and this what resulted. Fluff, as well as feels, are ahead, and I hope you guys enjoy!
Takes place in the six-year interlude between "Mending Fences" and the epilogues.
"Are you ready for your first baseball game, lad?" Killian asked Liam as he scooped him up from his playpen.
"Even though he's only eight months old?" Emma pointed out with a grin.
"I have you know that I was around Liam's age when my mother and father took me sailing the first time," Killian told her.
"Oh, I don't doubt it, Captain," Emma teased.
Killian rolled his eyes in response.
Emma then became more serious as she asked, "And you're sure you have everything? Bottles? Baby food? Diapers? Wipes…" but was cut off by her husband.
"We went through this last night, love. We'll be fine – you don't have to worry."
Emma smiled at him before she said, "I know – I just can't help it sometimes."
"It's alright, Swan," Killian told her as he returned her smile.
He then grabbed the diaper bag from the table before he kissed both Emma and Anna Elizabeth goodbye and headed out the door.
The eight-year-old then carried her empty cereal bowl to the sink before looking up at Emma and asking, "Didn't you say that we got to go to the store?"
"Yep, kid, we do," Emma replied.
"But we got food," Anna Elizabeth pointed out.
Emma resisted the urge to laugh as she told her, "I know, kid. But there's some other things that we need."
"Oh, okay," Anna Elizabeth replied.
Emma smiled at her before she told her, "Alright, Anna Elizabeth, I'm going to clean up the dishes and you go get dressed. And then we'll go to the store."
Anna Elizabeth nodded before she ran off to her room.
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"Mommy Emma?" Anna Elizabeth asked as they were walking up to the register.
"What is it Anna Elizabeth?"
"Can I get an apple juice?"
"Sure, kid," Emma replied as she ran her fingers through her curls.
The small blonde then sprinted over to the small freezer that held drinks.
When she returned, Emma checked out, and the two of them made their way out the door.
Emma and Anna Elizabeth then walked out to the bug, and placed the groceries in the trunk.
Before they had even left the parking lot, Anna Elizabeth turned on the Disney CD and found "I See the Light" from Tangled.
Emma smiled at the sound of Anna Elizabeth singing over Mandy Moore's voice.
However, when the second verse came on, the small blonde went quiet.
"Anna Elizabeth, why did you stop singing?" Emma questioned.
"It's the boy part," Anna Elizabeth told her.
"Oh, of course," Emma replied.
By the time that the song was over, Emma was pulling into the garage.
She and Anna Elizabeth went inside and quickly put everything away.
The small blonde then suggested, "Mommy Emma, can we build a fort?"
"A fort?" Emma asked, slightly confused.
"The last time I stayed with Evie, we builded a fort and it was so fun! We read books and colored and watched movies!" Anna Elizabeth exclaimed.
Emma smiled at the little girl before she answered, "That does sound like fun."
She then asked, "How about you help me move the chairs from the kitchen into the living room so we can make our fort?"
Anna Elizabeth's eyes lit up before she sprinted to the circular table and began dragging one of the chairs.
About 10 minutes later, the four chairs had the corners of the blanket tied around them. Emma and Anna Elizabeth were laying underneath them on another thick blanket and several pillows. Each of the blondes had a coloring book in front of them and were coloring away.
Anna Elizabeth looked over at Emma's picture and told her, "Your picture is so pretty!"
"Thank you, Anna Elizabeth. So is yours – Snow White and the Dwarfs look very good."
Anna Elizabeth smiled brightly before she asked, "Are you coloring Rapunzel because she's your favorite?"
Emma smiled at her as she answered, "Well, I do like the movie Tangled."
"I do, too. Flynn is my favorite – he's funny," Anna Elizabeth replied.
"He is pretty funny. He makes me laugh," Emma agreed.
"Like Daddy Killian?" Anna Elizabeth questioned.
Emma smiled once again as she replied, "Yes, like Killian."
"Is that why you love him?" Anna Elizabeth then asked with childlike innocence.
"Well, there's a lot of reasons why I love Killian, and him making me laugh is one of them," Emma responded.
The blonde expected more questions but Anna Elizabeth simply nodded in response.
They colored in silence for a couple of minutes before Anna Elizabeth exclaimed, "I'm finished!" and held it up to Emma.
"That is really good, Anna Elizabeth," Emma began with a smile. She then suggested, "How about you go and hang it on the refrigerator?"
Anna Elizabeth shook her head before she said, "I want Liam to have it."
Emma's smile grew as she told her, "That's very sweet. I know he'll like it."
Anna Elizabeth smiled back before she asked, "Can I go put it in his room?"
"Sure, kid," Emma answered as she ruffled her curls.
Anna Elizabeth then ran off to her brother's room.
When the small blonde didn't return as quickly as she should have, Emma knew that something was up. So, she crawled out from the fort and began walking to Liam's room.
Just as Emma guessed, Anna Elizabeth was standing in the rocking chair trying to hang the picture over Liam's crib.
Emma shook her head in response. Before she could say anything, however, her eyes widened in fear when she saw that Anna Elizabeth was about to fall.
Luckily, Emma's fast reflexes paid off, and she was able to catch the little girl before she hit the floor.
When both were standing upright, Emma asked, "Anna Elizabeth, why didn't you call me to help?"
"I wanted to do it by myself," Anna Elizabeth answered, reminding Emma of both Liam and Elsa.
Emma then bent down on Anna Elizabeth's level and explained, "I know you want to do everything by yourself. And while that is a good thing, you have to realize that sometimes, everyone needs help. Do you understand?" as she ran her fingers through her daughter's curls.
"Yes, Mommy Emma," Anna Elizabeth replied.
Emma nodded before standing back up.
"Can we color some more?" Anna Elizabeth asked.
"Sure, kid," Emma answered with a smile.
Just as Anna Elizabeth sprinted off to the living room, Emma's phone rang.
The blonde quickly answered it and said, "Hey, Anna, what's up?"
"Hey, Emma, I was actually hoping that you could do me a favor?" Anna replied.
"I'd be happy to help. What is it?" Emma told her.
"Well, the kids and I were looking at the photo albums the other day, and I realized that most of my high school pictures were taken with Elsa and are in the scrapbook that I made for her. Would you mind taking some pictures of those photos with your phone and sending them to me?" Anna said all in one breath.
"Of course I would," Emma replied.
"Thank you so much, Emma. You're the best!" Anna squealed.
Emma couldn't help but chuckle at Anna's enthusiasm before she told her, "No problem, Anna. I'm going to get off here now so that I can find the scrapbook."
Anna responded, "Of course! Say hi to everyone for me!"
"That goes for me as well. Talk to you later, Anna," Emma told her before Anna bid her goodbye and they hung up the phone.
Emma just decided to leave Anna Elizabeth to her coloring before making her way to her and Killian's bedroom.
As she arrived, she instantly went to the closet and began fumbling around.
It wasn't long before she had found the scrapbook. She quickly went through and snapped pictures that she knew that Anna would want.
Just as Emma had closed it and was texting the pictures, Anna Elizabeth came bounding into the room.
Her blue eyes immediately went to the scrapbook and asked, "Is that the scrapbook that Aunt Anna made Mommy?"
"Yes, it is. Aunt Anna wanted a copy of some of the pictures," Emma told her.
Anna Elizabeth nodded in response. She stood quietly for a few minutes before she asked, "Can we look at it?"
Emma offered her a smile as she answered, "Of course we can."
Anna Elizabeth then questioned, "Can we look at in the fort?"
"Sure, kid," Emma replied.
Anna Elizabeth then grabbed the scrapbook from the bed and carried into the living room with Emma behind her.
As soon as Emma had settled cross-legged in the fort, Anna Elizabeth climbed into her lap. Said scrapbook was a collection of photos and such from Elsa's high school years that Anna had made her for graduation. Since the whole scrapbook wasn't filled, Elsa had gone back and added some later pictures as well. Anna had given the scrapbook to Killian a couple months after the accident, knowing that one day Anna Elizabeth would want it.
As they flipped through the scrapbook, Anna Elizabeth observed, "Mommy was very happy in all these pictures."
"Yeah, she was. We had a lot of good times in high school," Emma reminisced.
Anna Elizabeth then asked, "What was this picture?" as she pointed to a picture of Elsa, Anna, Emma, Ruby, Mary Margaret, and Regina.
Emma studied the picture carefully for a few minutes before she answered, "Oh, that was a concert we had all went to for this band that we loved."
Anna Elizabeth nodded in response.
As they continued perusing through the book, the small blonde surmised, "There's a lot of pictures of Mommy and Aunt Anna."
"Yeah, there is. They were very close," Emma told her.
"She was a good big sister, wasn't she?" Anna Elizabeth asked as she looked up at Emma.
"She was – she loved Aunt Anna very much, and did everything she could to take care of her when their Mommy and Daddy went to Heaven," Emma explained.
"Do you think I'll be a good big sister like Mommy?"
Emma smiled at her before she ran her fingers through her hair and told her, "You already are, Anna Elizabeth."
Anna Elizabeth smiled back at Emma in response.
The next pictures in the book were those that Elsa had added, and they soon saw photos of her and Liam.
"It's Daddy!" Anna Elizabeth exclaimed.
"Yep, that it is. You see, Aunt Anna didn't fill the entire book, so your mommy added some more," Emma explained.
Anna Elizabeth's eyes lit up as she looked at her parents. When she came to an ultrasound picture, she became confused.
"What is this?"
"That is a picture of you when you were in Mommy's tummy," Emma told her.
"Really?"
Emma nodded before she said, "Elsa was so excited when she found out she was having a baby. It was one of the happiest days of her life. And then when you were born, she wore one of the biggest smiles I'd ever seen."
Anna Elizabeth nodded before she looked back at the black and white photo. She then said quietly, "I miss my mommy."
The scrapbook was placed to the side before Emma turned her around and wrapped her in a hug. She simply kissed her head in response before she told her, "I know you do."
They sat like that for a while, with Emma running a soothing hand through Anna Elizabeth's curls and down her back, before they pulled apart. Emma wiped the few tears that had formed in Anna Elizabeth's eyes as well as her own.
Emma then told her, "You know how much your mommy loved you. And even she isn't here anymore, that love isn't going anywhere – she will always be your mother."
The small blonde nodded in response, but Emma could tell that she had something on her mind.
"Hey, kid, is there something you want to say?"
Anna Elizabeth looked up at Emma with those big blue eyes and asked, "Do you really think that Mommy is looking down from Heaven?"
Emma stroked her curls as she answered, "Yes, I do, Anna Elizabeth."
Anna Elizabeth then told her, "I think she's happy that you married Daddy Killian."
"Why do you think that?" Emma questioned, not entirely sure where this conversation was headed.
" 'Cause you get to be my mommy now," Anna Elizabeth replied.
Emma offered a small smile as she asked, "And what do you think about that?"
Anna Elizabeth furrowed her brows for a moment before she answered with a question, "Do you remember when you and Daddy Killian told me that you and him is my mommy and daddy now?"
Emma simply nodded in response.
The small blonde then asked, "Do you think that Mommy would be okay if I called you Mommy all of the time?"
Emma held in her emotions as she answered, "If that is what you want to do, Anna Elizabeth, I know she would be okay with it."
Anna Elizabeth then wrapped Emma in another hug as she said, "I want you to be my mommy, Aunt Emma."
As they pulled away, Emma responded, "I would love very much to be your mommy."
Anna Elizabeth smiled in response. However, it slightly faded as a thought occurred to the eight-year-old.
She then asked, "Can I still think of my mommy and call her that when we talk about her?"
"Of course you can, Anna Elizabeth. Like I said earlier, Elsa will always be your mommy, and the love that she had for you isn't going away. I'm just taking care of you now for her," Emma explained.
Anna Elizabeth nodded as she smiled brightly at Emma. She then told her, "I love you, Mommy."
Emma returned her smile as she told her, "And I love you, Anna Elizabeth."
Anna Elizabeth then suggested, "Can we play Chutes and Ladders? I love playing it with you."
"Sure, kid," Emma replied. She then got up and made her way back to her room to retrieve the game from the closet.
By the time she made it back, however, Anna Elizabeth was fast asleep. Emma bent down and kissed the little girl's forehead before sitting beside her and watching her sleep.
It would be an understatement to say that this isn't quite how Emma foresaw becoming a mother. While she was aware that she would never truly replace Elsa in Anna Elizabeth's heart, Emma knew how much that little girl loved her, and that she did see Emma as her mother as well. The only thing that truly mattered is Anna Elizabeth, and that she was loved and cared for.
Some would say that being a parent to a child that isn't yours is difficult. But for Emma, it was the easiest job in the world. There's no place she would rather be than right here, watching the little girl who held a place in her heart as not simply a niece, but as a daughter.