Just Emma is good enough
A guest asked for a oneshot of...read and see.
Rocky: Sorry, but no, I don't write on the actors, just the characters.
Guest: Sorry, but I can't see Snow acting like that.
Emma had never really shown any interest in keeping up with anyone from her life before Storybrooke. As far as her family were concerned, Emma didn't have any relationships strong enough to warrant staying in contact. Apparently, they were wrong.
After several strongly worded letters, Emma finally caved and made the long journey back to Boston to clear out her old apartment so a new tenant could move in. It felt weird going back there. Being back in that apartment. It was so cold and empty. It didn't feel anything like home anymore. Home meant tripping over Henry's lego. Home meant waking up in the middle of the night to Neal shrieking. Home meant badgering questions from both her parents. Home was pretty perfect to Emma.
Emma could hardly open the door for the mountain of mail that had piled high under the letterbox. Emma flicked through it all, not expecting anything exciting. She had redirected all her important mail to Storybrooke. It was really all junk mail. There was only really one letter that caught Emma's attention. It was handwritten. Emma never received handwritten letters. Curious, Emma opened the letter. Inside, she found a letter from Heather. Heather and Emma had shared a group home for a few months, and the girls immediately hit it off. Emma never again met another child she connected with as much. Heather was a few years younger than Emma. They met when Emma was eight and Heather four. The little girl idolised Emma and all that she did. Emma was surprised Heather had tracked her down, Emma had never made herself easy to find. Yet, she managed it. She was clearly eager to meet up. So Emma punched in the number Heather had left on the letter into her phone and waited nervously for her to pick up. Emma was just as eager to meet back up with Heather. She hadn't thought about the little girl in years, but Emma had truly missed her.
A couple of months later, with a little help from Gold (well, Belle) and some cooperation amongst the residents of Storybrooke (particularly the magical ones) and Heather was on her way to visit Emma in Storybrooke for a couple of weeks.
A few days into Heather's visit, and all of Emma's family couldn't help but feel, well, a little peeved. All of them had worked hard since the curse broke to build relationships with Emma. Little by little, those walls of hers were coming down and she was beginning to trust them. Now this complete stranger waltzed in and suddenly Emma was giddy as a schoolgirl. No walls to be seen, they'd been blasted away by dynamite. What they all forgot, was to Emma, Heather wasn't a complete stranger. They had a history together. So when they all eventually decided to ask her about it, Emma told them as much.
"I know you all love me, but let's be real, I've never been able to just be Emma since the curse broke." Emma said in response as Heather had her shower (the only time the family had to question her without Heather's presence). "I've always had an extra caveat. The Saviour, the princess of Misthaven. Something. People are always looking to me for answers. Sure, Heather kind of did too, but never because I was meant to be something extraordinary. Just because I was Emma, and to her, that was good enough. It still is. She takes the pressure off. It's like when it's just me and Neal. He just sees me as his big sister, so does Heather. But will Neal always see me like that as he grows up and hears all my other names? I know for a fact Emma will only ever know me as Emma, her big sis. It's nice. I just want to enjoy it while I can." Emma explained. Snow, Charming and Henry now all felt bad.
"For what it's worth, I've never loved you for being the Saviour, or because you're the heir to the throne. I've always loved you as just Emma, just Emma my baby girl." Charming said, placing his hand on Emma's shoulder. Snow came over.
"Me too." She agreed with her husband as she linked hands with Charming and squeezed Emma's hand.
"I might have came to you to turn you into the Saviour, but I also found a pretty rad mom. I think you're pretty awesome without being the Saviour too. Until you ground me." Henry joked. Emma gave a small smile. This had been the reminder her family needed. They of course loved her just as Emma. It had gotten so busy with all the villains they had faced since the curse broke that, maybe, they'd forgotten to show Emma that as much as they should have.
