From barren to babies
avc.382 asked for a oneshot of Emma reading the storybook to Neal and getting to the bit where George curses Snow. She asks their mom how it's possible they exist. Snow tells her about Ruth's sacrifice, because it isn't in the book.
"Please, Emmy?" Neal asked his big sister with his puppy dog pout that was oh-so like his father's. Emma sighed. She could never resist his cute little face.
"Alright, just one chapter though." She told him. Neal grinned, hurrying off to fetch Henry's old storybook, that had since been passed down to him. "Let's see, where were we…" Emma was midway through reading her little brother their parents' story. It was just as intriguing for Emma as it was for Neal. She had never really read their story, just picked up pieces here and there either from things Henry had read to her or from things her parents had said. So when she read Neal the chapter where George cursed her mother with barrenness , Emma understandably was very confused. She just breezed past it with Neal, who didn't really understand what was going on. But obviously, Emma did. She didn't say anything then, but after Neal went to bed, she spoke to her mom about it in the kitchen.
"I'm just confused, is all." Emma said, sipping her hot chocolate (nobody made it quite like her mom). "How do Neal and I even exist?" Snow stopped midway through sipping her own hot chocolate and gave Emma an amused look over the mug. Emma nearly choked on her drink and set it down.
"Do you and I need to have a conversation? Only I thought that detail might have already been covered…"
"Ugh, please, spare me those particular details." Emma pleaded with her mom. "You know what I mean though." Emma said seriously. "If George made you barren, how could you ever get pregnant?" She asked. Snow gave Emma a sad little smile. This was such a bittersweet story. It was how Charming lost his mother, and Snow lost who could have been an incredibly influential figure in her and her children's lives. But without Ruth's sacrifice, there would have been no children for her to speak of. So, as delicately as possible, Snow explained to her daughter how her grandmother sacrificed her own chance at saving her life so Snow and Charming could have children. Understandably, Emma was incredibly moved by all of this.
"Dad's mom…she gave up the water for..." Snow smiled. She understood.
"Yes, for you. Even though she didn't know you yet." She said. She reached across the table and stroked placed her hand on top of Emma's, stroking her thumb across it. "She would have adored you, and Neal. She would have probably let you both away with murder." Snow joked. Emma gave a small laugh, but part of her still felt guilty, even though she knew it was irrational to blame herself when she hadn't even been born. Snow, once again, knew what Emma was thinking. "She made her choice, Emma. I would do the same for you or Neal, and you would do the same for Henry. It's what we do as a parent. That's one lesson she was able to teach me." Snow said with a sad smile. A silence hung over them both for a couple of seconds before Snow sighed and took another sip of her drink. Just before she did so, she raised the mug slightly higher than was necessary.
To Ruth.
