During the missing year

Alex asked for a oneshot of Emma falls into a time portal that takes her to the missing year in the EF. She knows she needs to get back to the present, but her parents don't want her to leave. Set before the pregnancy.

Emma didn't understand why Regina felt it was important to her training that she learned how to create a portal. Regina couldn't even do that herself and she had managed fine. Emma didn't understand why, just because she was powerful enough, Regina felt Emma should be able to do it? Especially since she had been pulled into one she had created and now had no idea where she now was. Emma got to her feet, her hands burning. Emma knew she wouldn't be able to even attempt to make another portal until the pain stopped. So she started to wander round her surroundings, looking for a place to bunker down until it was safe to attempt a second portal back to Storybrooke. That's when Emma got the fright of her life.

"How did you guys end up here with me? You were nowhere near me when I made the portal!" She said, as she spied her parents walking past her. Snow and Charming looked up at the sound of Emma's voice. No, it couldn't be, could it? Emma now looked puzzled.

"How is your hair so long again?" Emma's eyes widened as she realised how. She hadn't just created a bog-standard portal. She'd created a time portal.

"Never mind." Emma said quickly. "Wrong person. Sorry."

"Emma, wait!" Her dad called as Emma went to walk away. Emma froze. She turned back around slowly. How did they know her name? She was clearly in the Enchanted Forest. She had clearly gone back in time. How did they recognise her?

"How do you remember us?" Snow asked, as they both approached her. "When we left you and Henry, you should have lost all your memories of us as you crossed the town line. Is Henry here too? We need to be careful. The Wicked Witch might be around. There's a lot to explain…" Now Emma realised. She was in the missing year. At the very start of it, judging by her mother's flat stomach.

"I'm still in New York guys." Emma explained. "This isn't a regular portal. I'm from a couple of years in the future." Emma told them. This shocked Snow and Charming. How was that even possible? Emma shrugged. "My magic has advanced." Emma told them. "That's all I can tell you. I really have to get back to my own time."

"Don't go." Charming said quickly, grabbing her hand. "We don't know when we'll see you again." He pointed out. Emma frowned. It had only been an hour or so since she had last seen her parents. To them, at that moment in time, it had been days, with no end in sight. Emma hated hurting them like this.

"You'll see me again." She promised them. "It's all going to be ok." Emma told them. But it wasn't wise to spend time with them when she wasn't meant to be here. As much as they hated it, her parents understood.

"Soon." Charming said, smiling through his pain. "We're counting on that." Emma nodded, moving off into the distance. A year counted as soon, right?