Hello and Happy 2019! To ring in the new year, I've decided to read all my old stories, provide a bit of a reaction and write a little: 'if I were to add to this how would that addition go.'

I published this story in November of 2014, when I was about 15 and a half and in 10th grade. I am now almost 20, and going to film school, so this should be interesting to reread. This was my first Once Upon a Time fanfic and most popular (of my OUAT fics). At the time I am writing this it has 20 reviews, 16 followers, and 52 favorites. According to the traffic graph there are still people viewing this story in 2019 and it is the only story I still get emails about (people favoriting and following). That's mind-blowing! It's been 5 years since I wrote this, and people still like it. I'm going to reread this story now, along with the reviews and I'll be back in the next paragraph.

Reactions:

Reviews:

Wow, shout-out to the guest who reviewed January of 2018 asking for another chapter, way to stick with it. This probably isn't what you had in mind.

Story:

I vividly remember writing the first half of the beginning authors note then hearing my dad call me down for supper, (and then we watched the show after supper) and seeing the promo at the end of the episode and getting very frustrated that they stole my idea and now my fanfic wouldn't look as original. It was kind of nice though because it provided a starting point for a story with which I didn't have one (when the idea came to me I only thought up the ending, so I didn't know how it was going to start yet).

I don't know if any of you all watch Marvel's Agents of Shield but thinking back to this episode while reading this fic kind of reminds me of a scene of Skye's (Daisy's) from the latter half of season 2, blowing up the tree and calling for Gordon. That was off topic I apologize, I've replaced Once with Agents of Shield and have started noticing that they share quite a few of the same plot points.

Back to the matter at hand, grammatically this story is pretty solid, I got a bit lost when the POV changed from Snow to Hook but figured it out a few sentences in. This story is actually pretty solid, even if it ended up turning into a bit of a song-fic, which I sort of hate now-a-days.

If I were to rewrite this story now, I think the only thing I might change is adding some kind of visual page break at POV changes. Maybe spent a bit more time working out the song lyrics, so they fit a bit better. Part of me wonders if adding Elsa in is necessary but I think it helps make the final leap to 'oh this is a Frozen song-fic.'

If I were to add a chapter to this…the show resolved the problem very well in the episode this was speculation for, that being said, if I try to erase any memory of what the show did, the next chapter might go something like this:

Snow waited anxiously for her family to return, pacing around the kitchen. She had gotten the call from Charming almost an hour ago, they had found Emma. Regina had checked her over, to make sure her magic was back in check, and to give her some instructions in case she lost control again. And now they were bringing her home. Snow had the pullout couch* ready for Hook to sleep on, should he choose to stay the night.

The door opening, snapped her out of her worries as she spun to see her family entering the loft. Emma was wrapped in a blanket and was being gently led through the door by Hook. Snow rushed forward and gathered her daughter into her arms, she felt Charming put his arms around them both a minute later. After a moment Snow pulled back to place a kiss on Emma's forehead. Tears were slowly making their way down both of their faces.

"We," Snow stated pointedly, "will never be afraid of you. No matter what you do, we will always love you and want you around us." A small smile spread across Emma's face.

"I'm sorry," She wiped the tears from her face, "I love you too." Snow pulled her in for another brief hug before taking in just how tired everyone before her looked.

"Okay, we'll talk more in the morning. For now, let's everyone get some sleep. Hook, you're welcome to stay on the pullout for the night." A chorus of hmm's and nods of approval was the only reply she got before everyone said their good nights and headed to their respective beds.

Emma lay quietly in bed listening to the sounds of her family settling down for the night. A final murmured 'night' from Elsa on the other side of the bed and the loft was silent. Her family's steady breathing and the occasional shuffle of people adjusting in their sleep was slowly starting to lull her to sleep. The exhaustion of the day finally catching up to her, Emma drifted off to sleep, content with the knowledge that she was surrounded by people who loved her and that she never had to worry about being unwanted ever again.

*I have no idea what the sleeping arrangements were like in that loft. If I remember correctly the upstairs had one queen (or double) bed and the downstairs had one queen (or double) bed, yet somehow at this point in Season 4 Snow, Charming, Emma, and Elsa (and baby Neal but he had a crib) were all staying at the loft so I would assume Emma and Elsa were sharing the upstairs bed. For the purpose of this fic I made their couch into a pullout couch because I think the idea of Hook sleeping over after this is cute. Also, a pullout couch would explain where the hell Henry sleeps when he stays over there, because I don't buy that he shares a bed with his mom.

That was really fun. I'm looking forward to doing this on my other stories. Let me know what you thought of this little pseudo-chapter. Were you surprised by my age? Did you like my little second chapter (I know it was short)? Have you been here since the beginning or are you a newbie?

Peace out guys!

-A