Not another child

Oncefan123asked for a oneshot of Emma having to talk to a 10 year old in Snow's class about suspected abuse. To gain her trust, Emma tells her about some of the things she went through as a child. Snow overhears everything. Trigger warning for heavy themes of child abuse.

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days, I've just been busy adulting haha. But if you're looking for a proper fix of Charming family love, my friend justanoutlaw is about to start July Jamboree, where she'll be posting a Charming family request every day for the month so get requesting!

It was never an easy call out for anyone in the force. Even less so for Emma, particularly given the circumstances.

One of the little girls in her mom's class had been coming into school with unexplained injuries in very unusual locations. Whenever they were brought to her attention, she used repetitive answers to explain them. She walked into a door, she slipped and fell, she wasn't looking where she was going…yeah, they all seemed pretty familiar to Emma.

After further investigation, the little girl, Riley, had been at least temporarily taken out of the care of her parents whilst they tried to get to the bottom of things. It had been decided that it was not in Riley's best interests for her statement to be taken at the station. It was too unfamiliar and cold an environment. Instead, she was brought into school early one morning to talk with Emma in her classroom. Even that made Riley feel nervous, so Snow (who had also come in early) promised that she would be very close by if Riley needed anything, and just to tell Emma if she needed a break. Snow made sure Riley saw her presence by being outside in the corridor, putting up some new artwork from the class.

"So people have been noticing that you've been coming into school with some bruises and things, Riley." Emma began as gently as possible. "Can you tell me how you got them?" The little girl shrugged, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"I fall down a lot." She mumbled. "I'm clumsy." Emma frowned. She gently leaned in closer.

"I'm going to tell you a secret." She told her. She saw the little girl tense up. "Don't panic, it's not a secret that's going to get you hurt." Emma promised her. "I'm going to tell you a little bit about me when I was a kid." Snow stopped what she was doing outside. Her breath became very quiet as she strained to hear every word. "I didn't grow up with parents. You'll maybe have heard about me being the Saviour, but that doesn't matter right now. What matters is when I was little, I didn't always have nice people looking after me." Emma explained to Riley. "Sometimes I did, and that was really great. But there were other times I stayed with not so nice people. Adults who would hurt me, and you know adults aren't meant to hurt children, right? They're meant to keep them safe?" Emma asked Riley. She nodded, still unable to look at Emma. Snow too was beginning to feel her legs become wobbly. She had failed to keep Emma safe from these monsters. "When I was about nine, I stayed with this lady. She didn't really like me very much at all. I tried very hard to be good and do everything I was supposed to, because when I was a kid I thought she must not like me because I was being bad. But now that I'm a grown up, I know she was the one being bad. She pushed me down stairs once, and told me it was my fault for being clumsy. I believed her, so that's what I told other people when they asked what happened. But deep down, I knew being pushed didn't make me clumsy." Emma told her. "She done lots of things like that." Emma rolled up her sleeve and showed Riley a scar at her elbow. "That's from when she threw a glass at me. Said it was my fault for not catching it on time." Emma said, voice void of emotion over the ancient incident. Snow, on the other hand, was close to tears. How could anyone treat her baby girl that way? Riley reached out and gently traced her finger along the scar. When she pulled back, she bit her lip, seeming hesitant. Emma waited, not wanting to scare her off. Then, she pulled back the collar of her shirt to reveal her own scar just off her shoulder. Unlike Emma's faded white scar, Riley's was still red.

"I shouldn't have got in his way." Riley said quietly. "That's why he pushed me. It was my own fault I landed against the glass door." Emma tried to remain calm. She felt that anyone who hurt a child was the lowest of the low. Prison was too good for those sickos.

"Who, Riley? Who pushed you?" Emma asked her. Riley bit down harder on her lip. "It's safe to tell me. I'm going to help you." Emma promised her. Riley nodded.

"My dad." She admitted. "My dad hurts me." Emma nodded. She took Riley's hand and squeezed it.

"That can't have been easy telling me that." Emma said. "You've been very brave." Emma praised her. "I'm going to call some people now, people who are going to make sure your dad can't hurt you again, and who'll make sure you've got somewhere safe to live from now on." Emma promised her. "I know this is scary, but you've done the right thing." Emma promised her. "Things will get better."

By an hour later, Riley was set up with one of the couples in Storybrooke. Emma had been working on some local people being police checked so, in situations like this, children didn't need to be placed somewhere potentially insecure.

After Riley left, Snow had someone else cover her class. She had to be with Emma. She made her a cup of hot chocolate in the staffroom. Without warning, she set both cups down on the table and pulled Emma into a tight hug.

"It's ok." Emma said, understanding the hug. "It was a long time ago."

"That doesn't make it ok." Snow said, barely holding herself together. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I should have been there. I should have protected you…"

"Hey." Emma said, coming out of the hug. "You did what you had to do. I get that. Let's leave the past in the past where it belongs." Emma suggested. Snow placed some loose hair behind Emma's ear. She would love nothing more than to be able to do just that; never have to think about some of the horrific events from Emma's childhood. But she always would carry that burden, both she and Charming would. They were her parents, they had failed to protect her. They could never forget that, or forgive themselves.