So, the reason Snow and David went through the door and stayed there was because, 1) is there anyone that would be able to convince Emma to walk through a sparkling door with people she doesn't know. I know she's adventurous, but she's not stupid. And 2) could you imagine bringing a kid from the 90s to 2016/17 (not exactly sure on the timeline still, I think it might even be earlier than that). Snow and David know what they're doing and they haven't left baby Neal. The door sends them back to the past, therefore, Neal hasn't been born yet - they're going to bring him into the world, it's just a matter of time. Emma's only 8 years old, they have a few years to worry about how they're going to get her to meet Neal (Henry's father). Besides, pretty sure no matter how Emma was raised she'd always be opinionated and independent - she might just find Neal on her own. You'll just have to wait and see.

I said before that I didn't have a plan for the story, what I meant was I don't know how long it will be; I know where the story's going, just not how long it will take to get there. I've thought a lot about this, I know the story inside and out. Just have to get it all out now. Let me know what you think and if anything is still confusing I'd be happy to explain. 3A

Emma woke up with a start from the screaming. She quickly made her way downstairs to see the morning scramble as everyone tried to get out of the door, ready for school. She looked down at her pajamas and realized she was going to be late if she didn't hurry.

She ran up the stairs and quickly changed into her jeans and long sleeve white shirt, she threw on her jean vest and put her hat on her head - knowing that she wouldn't have time to brush her hair. As she ran downstairs she grabbed her bookbag and a piece of toast off the table. The bus had just stopped two houses down when she emerged from the house. Emma ran toward the bus and got on, shoving the piece of toast in her mouth so that the bus driver wouldn't tell her she wasn't allowed to have food on the bus. She let out a content sigh as the bus pulled away and headed toward the school.

Walking into school was never fun, in fact it was probably the worst part of the day for Emma. This was the designated time when everyone decided to pick on her and make sure she knew that she was unwanted. As she stepped off the bus she quickly made her was to the front door. There weren't too many kids out this morning. A light tap on her shoulder told Emma that it was of course too good to be true. She tentatively turned to face the person, eyes caste to the ground.

"Hey sweetie, how did you sleep?" Emma looked up and saw that Snow was standing right in front of her with the sweetest smile adorning her face.

Emma fidgeted for a moment, "Uh, well I went to bed kind of late because I was reading and then I had to rush, but I slept really good." She tilted her head to the side at the realization that Snow was actually there, "Hey, why are you here? I thought you said that you were going to come after school."

"I did, you're right, but something special happened yesterday after I left." Snow gently placed her hand on Emma's shoulder and began walking inside. "I was searching for a job and I stopped at your school to see if they needed any help. I used to be a teacher before we moved here, so I thought it would be neat if I could work close to you."

Emma didn't understand, "So, what are you doing here?"

"I'm the new 5th grade teacher. I guess they were pretty desperate because I get to start today. I wanted to find you first though to make sure you knew I was here." Snow took a deep breath, she didn't want to scare Emma with too much mothering right away, "If you need anything you can find me in room 123. Do you know where that is?"

Emma's eyes grew wide, "That's right across the hall from my classroom!" She realized that she was getting excited and didn't want Snow to think she was clingy or overly energetic. Most foster parents didn't like that about kids. Emma had to continuously remind herself that not everyone liked hugs or loud proclamations. "Um, I'm sorry. So, are you really going to try to be my new foster parents?"

Snow saw the inner turmoil running through Emma and realized for the first time that this Emma was very different from her adult daughter. She wanted to be loved and hopefully, if Snow was right, hugged. "Emma sweetie, we are going to do everything in our power to make sure that you can come live with us. Forever. We don't want you to be in foster care anymore. I know this is probably a lot for you right now, but maybe today after school we can talk more. What do you think?" Snow wanted to make sure that Emma always knew she had options.

"I think I like that. Thank you." Emma sucked in a deep breath and decided to make her move before she could chicken out. She quickly wrapped her arms around Snow and then ran across the hall into her classroom.

Snow stood there in complete shock.

XX XX

David finished his day at exactly 3 o'clock. He felt like he was on top of the world. He had not only managed to impress everyone with his knowledge of animal care, but he was also able to save a dog from a life threatening illness before anyone else was able to blink. The head of the animal clinic happened to be at the clinic while all of this happened and offered David a position as the lead doctor at the clinic. David was thrilled and couldn't wait to tell Snow and Emma.

As he walked out of the clinic that afternoon David felt like he was floating. He floated all the way to the school. He spotted Snow first.

"How come everything is coming so easily for us? I'm getting a little suspicious." David whispered to Snow as he kissed her cheek.

Tilting her head to the side Snow looked up into David's eyes perplexed, "What happened today?"

"I was asked to be the lead veterinarian at the clinic."

Snow jumped into David's arms and wrapped him in a loving embrace while simultaneously kissing him and saying, "Oh, David, that's wonderful. I knew you'd do well there." David placed her back on the ground and she continued, "I know it seems like everything is going perfectly, but this is how it was always meant to be. We were supposed to be able to raise Emma. Don't get me wrong, I know we'll have some troubles along the way, but I don't think we need to dwell on that."

"You're right. Thank you for always showing me the hope." David looked around, "Where's Emma?"

Snow looked around at all the kids running up to their parents and some getting on buses. She couldn't see Emma. "I don't know. How about you look out here and I'll go in and see if maybe she's still in class."

"Ok. Sound like a plan. We'll meet at that bench." David pointed to the bench that he had sat on just yesterday waiting for Snow to finish her interview.

Snow walked into the building in search of Emma while David started scanning the playground. He walked closer to the playground to get a better look. There were kids swinging from bars and jumping off swings, some kids were playing tag weaving in and out of the swings, while others were playing soccer in the field. It looked like most of the kids had banged up knees and elbows from falling, they were all running and having fun; this was nothing like the kids back home David decided. The kids back home were always calmly playing there wasn't so much rough housing. He figured he'd have to get used to this type of play, he figured Emma would be a dare-devil. At that moment he spotted her, climbing to the top of the monkey bars and walking on top. She was so high and David thought she looked so small. He walked, rather quickly, over to where she was ready to catch her at any moment. She jumped from bar to bar, with no regard for her safety, and then she jumped off the end and flipped in the air. She was able to land on her feet, but jumped forward trying to catch herself. David swooped in and gently grabbed her arms to help her steady herself.

"Hey, there Emma, remember me? I'm David."

Emma pushed her hair out of her face and looked up at David, "Thank you for catching me, yeah I remember you. I got to talk to Snow this morning. She said we're going to talk about me staying with you this afternoon. Where are we going to go first?"

David was used to Emma talking, but he wasn't used to her being so open about what she had talked to Snow about. He figured this was yet another thing he was going to have to get used to. "Well, I thought maybe we could go find another park. Maybe one you've never been to and then we can grab some ice cream."

"After that you have to bring me back to the group home don't you?" Emma looked down she was disappointed because for some reason she wanted to be with Snow and David all the time. She wasn't sure what it was about them, but they made her feel safe.

David slowly lifted Emma's chin with his finger, "Hey Em. We do have to bring you back to the group home today." Emma tried to pull away from David, but he grabbed her hands and held them in his. She looked into his eyes, she could see pain - as if he didn't want her to go to the group home either. "We have to make sure we have everything perfect for you so that the state will let us keep you. For now we have to take things slow, but I promise the moment we can we are going to take you out of the group home and you'll come live with us. Now I never back out on my promises, so now you know it's really going to happen. Are you good at keeping promises?" Emma nodded. "Good, because I need you to promise me something."

"What?"

"I need you to promise me that you'll always go to school and that you won't try to run away from the home. We need to know where you are so that we can find you. Can you promise me that?"

Emma searched his eyes, looking for any hint of a lie. He really did want to be able to find her, she could tell. She decided that her running away could wait a few weeks, maybe she wouldn't have to run away at all. She took a deep breath, "Yes, I can do that."

"Good girl. Now, I told Snow that we'd meet her over there at the bench. Where's your bookbag?"

Emma pointed to her tattered bag next to the slide. David went over and picked it up, he noticed the sudden change in Emma and realized she probably didn't like people to touch her stuff. He handed her the bag. He was rewarded with a small smile.

They walked over to the bench just as Snow was exiting the building.

XX XX

There was a park fairly close to the school, but far enough away that there weren't too many kids there playing. Snow had thought ahead and packed a few snacks. She handed Emma a chocolate pudding cup and a spoon. Emma's face lit up. "This is my favorite!"

Snow pretended like she didn't know what Emma was talking about, "Oh, it is. Well David like them too." She handed David a pudding cup as well.

They all found a spot under a tree and Snow laid out a blanket for them to sit on.

Emma finished her pudding cup and then looked up to find Snow and David looking at her. "Umm, what did you want to talk about?"

Snow took a deep breath, "What we're going to tell you might seem scary or it might make you mad, but we really want to explain everything to you. So maybe you can promise not to run away?"

Emma looked over at David, he winked at her, she felt like he was telling her everything was going to be ok so she looked back at Snow, "I promise I won't run away."

Snow began, "Now, we know that you know that you were found on the side of the road when you were a baby." Emma noded. "We don't know exactly how you got to that side of the road, but we do know where you came from." Emma's eyes got wide. "We're your real parents Emma. And before you say anything, we've always wanted you, but someone took you from us and we've been looking for you."

Emma got onto her knees and looked between Snow and David. She was searching for the lie, she was hoping this was all just some sort of joke. Maybe the big kids had decided to show her how she'd never find her parents. How she was always going to be nothing. Everytime she looked into Snow and David's eyes she saw the same thing, love. She saw that they not only loved her, but that they were telling the truth. "Are… are you sure?"

David spoke, "We are sure, but we know that us knowing isn't going to be good enough. So we've planned to do a DNA test. This way not only will the state know, but also you. There is still a lot that we have to do so that you can come live with us, but we wanted you to know why we want you so bad. What do you think?" David and Snow were both holding their breaths waiting for Emma to either run or yell. They weren't exactly sure how this smaller version of their daughter would be, but they knew that it wouldn't definitely be a big emotion whatever that may be.

"I… I think." Emma stopped talking. She looked around the park, as if looking to make sure everything was real. "Umm, I think I like that, but I'm still confused. Why can't I just come home with you right now. You're my real parents. You're supposed to have me!" By the time she was done talking, Emma was practically screaming and had one hand on either of Snow and David's shoulders.

Snow took hold of Emma's hand and slowly stroked her thumb on the top of her daughter's delicate skin. "Emma sweetie, in order for us to have you we have to have a home. We had to have jobs and we have to prove that we're your parents. We would have taken you yesterday when we found you, but we knew we couldn't do that. We want to make sure we do this the right way so that you can never be taken away from us."

David took Emma's other hand, "We both have jobs now. We also have a realtor who is looking for a house for us. Once we have a house we will have to get furniture. Then we'll contact the state and explain that you're our daughter and we want you to live with us. It might take a few weeks, but we're trying to do it as quickly as we can."

"Do you have any other questions?" Snow had begun stroking Emma's arm, which got Emma back on her knees in front of them.

Emma leaned into Snow's embrace. "I just want to go home with you now." Tears slowly began trickling down her cheeks. Snow wrapped her arms around Emma and pulled her onto her lap. Emma didn't resist, which surprised Snow.

"We promise that we will tell you everything that we are doing before we do it. We never break our promises…"

"I knew that already." Emma choked out through tears.

Snow looked at David and he winked at her, she nodded in response. "Well, then, that's good. So, after we go get some ice cream we are going to take you back to the group home and then we are going to go see if our realtor has found us a house. Once we have the house we think that everything will go a little quicker."

Snow sat rocking Emma for a while. They were all sitting in silence, each of them thinking of different scenarios with the same ending, them together as a family. It was Emma who first broke the silence, "Can we go get ice cream now?"

Snow and David laughed, "Of course we can princess." David bent down and kissed the top of Emma's head without thinking.

Emma looked up at him surprised by the action. She hadn't experienced such loving kindness in so long, she had almost lost hope that it would ever come. She smiled at David. He reached for her hands and helped her up, then he helped Snow up. They folded the blanket and headed out to the ice cream shop.

XX XX

So this is a little longer than it will usually be, but I'm in the process of moving and will probably not be able to get to this story again for another week/week and a half. I will try to update next week, but if I don't, do not worry, I'll be back. 3A