A guilty conscience

Jade Star asked for a oneshot of Charming suffering from nightmares after *5b spoilers!* banishing James to the river of lost souls. Snow helps him through it.

It was the same every night. He would wake up in a pool of his own sweat, fighting to catch his breath. His heart hammering in his ears. His eyes darting from side to side as his brain slowly returned to reality and stopped reliving the moment he cursed his twin brother to a fate worse than death. To an eternal damnation. To the river of lost souls. That night was no different.

But also like every night since they had returned from the Underworld, Snow awoke not long after he did. Being a mother had turned her into an incredibly light sleeper. Charming's rapid breathing was enough to stir her each night. Charming tried to convince her to go back to sleep, that he would be ok, but she insisted on staying awake until he was ok. She told him she was repaying him for when he had soothed her through the sleeping curse nightmares.

"You had to do it, Charming." She said gently, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder. "He was going to throw Emma in there. You were saving our daughter. Some people can't be saved."

"Emma said that too." Charming panted. "He was still my brother."

"I know." Snow said sympathetically, resting her head against the crook of his neck. "And I can't imagine how that makes you feel. All I can do is keep reminding you it was the only option you had to keep your daughter safe. We both know if it happened again, if it happened to me, we would both make the same decision. James was already in the Underworld, Charming. He wasn't moving on. Killing Emma wouldn't have helped and neither would killing you. You just stopped his reign of terror. Go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow. You saved your child. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Charming nodded, kissing Snow's forehead before they both lay back down. He pulled Snow over into his arms, hoping a clear physical reminder of her presence would help him sleep with more ease.