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"I guess what I was doing won't work. We have to think about something new," Said Mr. Gold concerned.
"We should ask Belle… Maybe she could search for something in the library."
"I don't want to- "
"You have another idea?"
"Belle, could you come here, please."
Belle appeared rubbing her eyes.
"Did I wake you up?" Asked Gold.
"No it's okay. I'm here."
Emma briefly explained the situation to Belle. Belle nodded and got dressed to go to library shortly after.
"Dearie, I think it's time to go home. I'll call you if I got anything."
Emma went back to her car and drove until she was in front of the apartment. She needed to go, she knew it. She needed to see her loved ones. But it was so hard. It's like she was frozen. She couldn't move knowing she did something wrong. She murmured to herself that she couldn't do it. Woke up by the sound of Emma's voice, Hook yawned causing Emma to look at him.
"I'll go with you," Said Hook with a smile. His voice was calm, soothing. He got out of the car and opened hers like a gentlemen. The gesture made Emma smile. Seeing it, Killian expressed "You see, I knew I could help you, love. " He took her left hand and they walked together.
They were standing in front of the door. The door that was separating her form her old life.
Giving Emma a kiss on the cheek he said to her "I know you can do it. I'll leave you with your family. Don't worry about me." He knocked on the door to be sure Emma wouldn't run away and leaved. She heard footsteps and her mom asking David who could it be. The door slowly showed Mary Margaret in her pyjama with a concern expression on her face. At the sight of her daughter, she started crying and called her husband.
"David...David…You…"
David came to see what was happening in the living room. He saw Emma looking down, holding her tears while his wife was going to embrace her.
"Emma…"
"I'm sorry"
"Come in…"
David closed the door and they all walked to the couch. Emma sat in the middle while her father and her mother sat to each side of their daughter. Emma begun sobbing so hard she couldn't stop. She was explaining the situation but it was impossible to understand. She put her head on the shoulder of her mother and stopped shaking but she was still cring. David rubbed her back. He looked at Mary Margaret clueless. She answered him with a smile that was saying they couldn't abandoned her no matter her mistakes. They stayed like that for the rest of the night. Emma ended up sleeping in her mother's arms. If it wasn't for this complicated situation, she would appreciate the trust Emma was giving her. It was one of their more intimate moment since she came to Storybrooke. The kind of intimacy a daughter and a mother should have.
The alarm rang. It was time to get up. David woke up first and closed the alarm. The job was going to wait for him and Snow. They had to save their daughter from her biggest fears. He kissed Emma's forehead and stretched. Sleeping on the couch was pretty hard and not that comfortable. However, he was glad his daughter came. She went missing for a year and since then, not a day passed without him or Snow missing her terribly. He heard some noise and put his gazed on the couch.
Mary Margaret had woken up and was running her fingers through Emma's blonde hair. During the night, her head fell on her laps. She was enjoying the proximity with her daughter after all the time they were apart. The movement of Snow's fingers slowly woke up Emma. Noticing where she was, she got up the fastest she could and apologize.
"No need sweetie. We are here for you."
Emma put her hair in a ponytail and sat next to her mother. David joined them with three cups of hot chocolate. Two of them contained cinnamon. They all drank a little bit and waited. Emma was the first to break the silence. "Don't contact Henry, yet. I'll talk to him soon."
"You need your time. We understand it," Said Snow with a smile
"What happened?" Asked David tired of waiting.
"David! Don't rush her!"
"It's okay, mom. I got this." Emma took another sip from the cup and sighted. "I love you guys. I really do. And I really love Henry. Don't ever doubt that. I just…loved Neal in a quite different way. I knew him before the curse. He was the first person to ever love me for who I was." David tried to interrupt her but Mary Margaret mad a sign with her hand to stop him. She knew that if one of them talked, Emma would shut up and never talked to them again about the situation.
"I had to go back to my root. Running away. It has to be before the curse, before Henry and…before him. I had to be the lost girl I was before. The orphan. No family. I know it's hard to understand, but I couldn't let myself feel. He leaved me three time, mom. And each time, it felt like a part of me was gone. He was my soulmate. I just know it. And now he is gone. Forever. But then, I dreamed of him. It was too much for me to handle. So I came to Storybrooke with the help of Hook. I talked to Mr. Gold and I learned that when he sleeps, he dreams of Neal's shadow. And it's hard to explain but I think we are connected. Neal is stuck in my dreams. Belle is looking for a clue."
The whole time Emma was explaining the situation, Mary Margaret was nodding and encouraging her to continue. Emma needed to feel like her parents were there for her no matter how much they were mad that she leaved. She needed them. And that's what parents are for. Being there for when their child is not feeling great. After the ending of the story, they hugged her and promised to never leave her side.