For Day 7 of Swanfire Appreciation Week: Free Day
A little bundle of pink. A wrinkled face and baby blues that can barely look up at them. Emma is laying there, holding her child that's just hours old.
She can't say she's beautiful or adorable, but she is all hers. After months of worrying if this is what she truly wanted, in her arms is another mixture of her and Neal. Emma is a mother again. This time, she'll get to raise the child and see them grow throughout the years. She won't knock on her door in 10 years, throwing everything into disarray.
Oh, how Emma prays this one breaks the curse. That she won't need to seek happiness or love, that it will simply come naturally.
"You did great, Em."
Emma wearily gazes up at her husband, who gently strokes her cheek. "She's so tiny," she remarks, looking back at the baby. Neal gently slides in beside her. "I got so fat and she's…"
Neal chuckles. "I know. I'm afraid we're going to break her."
"My mom says babies are durable. But I don't know…how did we make someone this small?"
"Have you seen my genes?"
Emma rolls her eye and gently elbows him in the ribs. "Speaking of, you know my mom is busy organizing her naming ceremony."
"It's not going to be much of one if we don't pick something."
Emma groans and ignores the pain that radiates through her body as she leans into him. It had been a source of contention throughout her entire pregnancy. Neal wanted to pick one right away. His father always stressed that names carry importance and they shouldn't be chosen lightly. Emma, on the other hand, didn't want to name them until they were born. She wanted to meet her child and get to know them first. Regina said as soon as she held Henry, she knew there was no other name that'd fit. Emma expected to have the same tug. She'd look into her daughter's eyes and see a Chloe or Kiera. Everything comes up blank.
"Nothing fits," Emma complains. "All of the ones on the list…well, she doesn't look like much of anything but especially not those."
Neal catches her off guard by nodding. "I have to agree. I was really holding onto Regan, but she's not a Regan."
"No, and I'm also not naming my daughter after a president."
Neal's lips form a faux pout. "I was thinking more The Exorcist."
"You would." Emma shakes her head. "This is so hard. She's going to be stuck with this name for the rest of her life. What if we screw up and she hates it?"
"Nothing's worse than Baelfire."
"What the heck was your mom thinking with that one?"
"Hell if I know, probably punishing my father." Neal leans down and strokes the baby's face. "Back on topic, what are we going to call her? Maybe Charley? We both love that Lou Reid song. I know she's a girl, but people name girls that right?"
"I'm not big on that. Unless you were totally stuck on it…"
"No, we both need to agree."
Emma bites her lip. There's a name she totally doesn't love, but it brings an important connection to them both. "What about Mary?" Neal raises an eyebrow. "You always say she was the first real mother you ever had. And in a way, we'd name he after my mom too and her whole cursed persona."
He leans down and kisses her. Emma doesn't miss the tiny tear that leaks from his eye. "That's sweet, babe, really. And I do like the name. I'm just not sure if I could picture calling her that all the time. Maybe the middle name?"
"Well, at least we have that sorted. God, the dwarfs have it so much easier. They're named after their main personality trait. Grumpy, Happy….not that I'd want to name this child Happy."
"We could name her something that reminds us of happiness. A good memory, even."
"Like what? Seattle? Where we met? You can't name a baby that."
"No, but maybe she could be Tallahassee."
Emma's breath shifts. Her eyes solely connect with his. Full of sincerity and love, it's so damn cheesy but she loves him so much for suggesting it.
"Tallahassee," Emma whispers.
"We never made it there. I mean, not really, but I always said that home wasn't a place. It was a feeling. It's the same with Tallahassee. That always represented our endgame. What we truly wanted."
A small smile spreads across Emma's face. "That was always a family. Which we have now."
"And she completes this family. What do you think?" Neal carefully takes his daughter into his arms. "Tallahassee Mary Swan-Cassidy."
"Tallie for short," Emma supplies. Neal goes to rebut and she holds up a hand. "Her life is going to be complicated enough, let's give her a somewhat normal nickname."
Neal's loud, barreling laugh takes over the room. Emma snuggles even closer to him, fiddling with the baby's receiving blanket. "Okay, Tallahassee it is. Tallie for short."
"Tallie," Emma repeats, her eyelids growing heavy. "Home."
