Searching into the night
captainswan2000 asked for a oneshot ofEmma being very tired and, as a result, cranky. She gets into a fight with Snow and leaves the house, going into the woods. Everyone goes out looking for her, but find her back at home sound asleep.
"That's it!" Emma yelled, shoving on her jacket. She didn't so much as give an explanation as she stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Charming blinked rapidly.
"Shouldn't we go after her?" He asked. Snow shook her head, rubbing her temple.
"No, she just needs to cool off, and to have a nap." She sighed. "She hasn't been sleeping well. I've heard her thumping about upstairs when I've been feeding Neal. She's overtired and needs to cool off. She'll be back in no more than a couple of hours. You'll see." But Charming didn't see. Four hours later and darkness had settled in, and Emma wasn't home. Snow deeply regretted not looking for Emma earlier when it was light. If anything had happened to their daughter…Snow would never forgive herself.
They had been told by various people that Emma had last been seen heading into the woods, so that's where Snow and Charming searched while Neal was safe with Granny. But after two hours of searching, Emma was nowhere to be seen.
"Snow…"
"No, Charming." Snow said, keeping marching forward. "I'm not leaving her out here alone."
"Snow, we have to face facts. Emma probably isn't in the woods anymore. She's probably in her bug or with Killian by now. Emma will come home when she's ready. We need to go home and rest. Tomorrow, we'll find her in whatever little hiding hole she's found for herself and bring her home." Charming said, taking Snow into his arms. He knew that she blamed herself, but getting themselves hurt staying out here all night wouldn't help Emma. Snow leaned into his chest.
"What if she's hurt, Charming?" Snow asked quietly. "What if she's all alone and scared because of me…"
"Shh." Charming said, kissing the top of Snow's forehead. "Emma's strong, Snow. You know that. She might be tired, but she's still a smart girl. She won't have allowed herself to be out here so late. Trust me, Emma is somewhere safe and sound and probably fast asleep. Let's go get Neal and go home. Emma's an adult, Snow. She can take care of herself. We'll check up on her in the morning. Trust me, you've got nothing to worry about." Snow still didn't want to go home until they knew exactly where Emma was, but she knew Charming had a point. She just prayed that he was right.
As the pair returned home with Neal, Snow readied herself for a long night. She knew she wouldn't be sleeping much. That was until they came inside and heard snoring coming from upstairs. Charming placed the snoozing Neal in his crib and together, he and Snow headed upstairs. Never in her entire life had Snow been as relieved as when she saw Emma asleep on her bed. She hadn't even taken her shoes off and she was still on top of the covers, but at least she was home.
"Told ya." Charming whispered, kissing Snow's cheek. Snow smiled before they crept into the room. Snow carefully got Emma's shoes off before Charming manoeuvred her so Snow could pull down the covers so Charming could get her into bed properly. They then each kissed her cheek before heading back downstairs. Snow smiled as she rested her head on Charming's chest, knowing she could sleep tonight.
