Walking on a knife's edge

A guest asked for a oneshot of Snowing steal Maleficent's egg for Neal rather than Emma. Emma and Henry went back to the EF with them. Emma overhears them discussing the plans and puts a stop to it. She reminds them that they always said they would love her no matter what, so the baby should be no different. They can stop the baby from being dark another way.

Blue's revelation had shattered the family. Just when Snow and Charming thought they had a chance, a chance to be the parents they had never gotten the opportunity to be to Emma, their dreams were broken.

Emma's magic being the lightest of light, that was always a flip of a coin. That much, the parents had always known. But when Rumple revealed that Emma would be the Saviour, they decided no further action was needed to ensure her magic would be good. Rumple's prophecy was enough proof for them that their baby girl would be good. When Snow found out she was pregnant again, she assumed that, since Emma had turned out with light magic, if this baby also had true love's magic, they would too. Blue was the one to tell them that wasn't the case. The chance was as fifty-fifty with this baby as it had been with Emma. Only this time, there was no prophecy so convince Snow and Charming that this baby would definitely be good.

After speaking to the Magician's Apprentice, Snow and Charming were lead to believe there was only one way to ensure that their baby would definitely be of light magic. They had to take his potential for evil, and put it in another vessel of complete innocence, another baby. The Apprentice told them that the villain Maleficent had an egg that would soon hatch. That would do to protect their unborn child. The egg would probably hatch within a week. They had that long to decide.

They were discussing it two days after the Apprentice told them their choice. How were they meant to decide something like this? Little did either of them know, that Emma had overheard the hushed tones of her parents coming from their bedroom. She had been struggling to adapt to life in the Enchanted Forest. She assumed they must be discussing her, so she listened in.

"…I don't know if we can do this, Snow." Charming whispered. He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't think I could live with the guilt. Maleficent might be a villain, but her child is not. What right do we have to force a fate on them? Emma was good without us having to do anything, surely we can trust this child will be too? We'll even be raising them, we know we'll raise them with good morals."

"What if it isn't that simple, Charming?" Snow pointed out. "What if their fate is sealed before they're even born? Magic is tricky. I don't want to risk this baby having dark magic. I would have done this for Emma too, if we had to…"

"But you didn't have to, and you don't have to now." Snow and Charming jumped, their heads whipping round. They both felt ashamed. Emma had heard them. They could see how hurt she was.

"Sure, maybe it was only a prophecy from the Dark One that convinced you I would have light magic, but you still trusted in me. Like you said, you didn't even raise me and you trusted I would come back, that I would be the Saviour. Dad, you're right. Maleficent's baby is an innocent in all of this. All babies are. You two are meant to be the greatest heroes in all the realms. I can't even believe you're contemplating doing something like this." Snow and Charming hated how disappointed Emma looked. Charming approached her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"It's difficult to understand." He sighed. "Emma, you're a mother. You know what it's like to make heart breaking decisions so your child can have the best outlook on their life. You gave Henry up for adoption, we put you through the wardrobe. What's best for your little brother or sister is more complicated than either of those decisions." Snow came over by Charming's side. They then had one of their silent conversations before Charming continued. "But you're right. We can't go through with this." Charming looked back to Emma. "We have to trust that this baby will be like their big sister."

"We will trust they'll be like their big sister." Snow piped up. Emma nodded briskly. Snow and Charming knew overhearing such a drastic plan of action will have had an impact on the growth of their relationship with Emma. They could work on that again. Just like they would work on their hope this baby would definitely be good.