Family is Forever

You guys continue to amaze me with your awesome reviews! Thank you everyone for your support, it is because of you all that this story is still around!

P.S I do not own the song Once Upon A December that Ginnifer sings in this chapter.

Chapter 11

Emma was gone, my baby ran away and it was my fault. When her eyes met mine she looked completely betrayed, I felt horrible. Seeing Emma on top of that girl terrified me, I never thought I would see someone like Emma start a fight.

"Gin we need to get away from these fans and find Emma" said Lana.

"Oh my gosh Lana Parrilla will you sign my shirt!" screamed a fan.

"Me to, me to!" yelled another.

We were completely surrounded by pleading fans with no way out, damn it.

"Meghan any ideas?" I yelled over the screaming fans.

Meghan was signing autographs while trying to not look aggravated. She glanced at me with unsure eyes of what to do. I glanced at Jennifer and Emilie, but they were also busy with the fans despite not wanting to be here anymore than I wanted to be. People were shoving their way to get to me but I was hiding behind Lana trying to find an escape route.

"Hey Ginnifer" said a voice.

I glanced around until I spotted a kid that couldn't much older than Jared, he was rather short and was probably only an inch or so shorter than Jared. He had short black hair, with the bright blue eyes that were hidden by thick round glasses. He was wearing simple blue jeans, sneakers, and some kind of comic book character t-shirt that said 'Gargoyles' on it.

He grinned innocently at me and tossed me a faded old red cap. "Use that to hide your face from the crowd and follow me, I know where the back exit is" he added.

I glanced at my friends once more, then back at the boy. Common sense would tell me not to follow this stranger, but he was a child and would be no threat to me so I followed. He led me far from the crowds and to a back door that nobody was near. Trying to leave through the entrance would have been impossible. I used the cap to shield my face the best I could while sneaking around the fans. Once we were outside I was glad to be out of that screaming room, and almost felt guilty for my friends.

"Thanks for the escape route, wasn't sure I would ever get out" I said grateful to the boy.

He smiled a genuine smile. "No problem it was fun, mind if I can have my cap back" he asked holding his hand out.

I blinked. "Oh yes, of course" I chuckled. I handed the faded cap to the boy.

"Thanks, this old cap has a lot of memories and I'd rather not lose it" he explained. He placed the cap on his head and looked more content now that it was on.

"I understand. Anyway thanks again for your help, I have to go find Emma" I said. I was about to turn around and head for the Volvo but he called out to me.

"Wait I know where Emma might be" he said.

I turn back to face the boy. "Do you know Emma?" I asked curiously.

He nodded. "Emma and I go way back actually. She doesn't know that I'm in town yet though I was pretty surprised when I saw her in that arcade. I just got adopted by this real nice family" he smiled proudly.

I smiled back. "Congratulations, I hope they treat you right" I said honestly.

"So far they've been great. Anyway I think I might know where Emma might have run off to, I heard this place has a pretty large forest?" he asked.

I nodded. "The Red Forest yes"

"Then she'll be there, I remember Emma once telling me how much she loved the woods. When she and I were living back in a smaller town then this, the house we stayed in was right near the woods. When things got bad she would hide out in the woods for days if she could" he explained.

Tears filled my green eyes at the thought of Emma being so scared of someone that she would rather sleep in the woods then in the home that was supposed to be safe for her.

"Thanks for the help…umm?"

"It's Ace, Ace Wolfe" he replied.

I smiled. "Well thank you Ace I really appreciate your help, right now I need to go and find Emma" I said.

"You mind giving Emma my number? I miss her" he said shyly. He handed a small piece of paper with his number on it.

"Of course, if she ever decides to talk to me again I'll be glad to hand her your number" I took the paper and shoved it into my jacket's pocket.

"Emma didn't start that fight you know" he said, he voice becoming serious.

"You saw what happened?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I didn't hear the entire conversation but I know Emma. She would never start a fight, she only fights if she has to" he explained. "Whatever those girls said must have really touched a sore spot, otherwise she could normally just shake off what people say and ignore them" he added.

My heart froze; I knew I shouldn't have jumped so quickly into believing that Emma might have started it. Before the crazy crowds pushed her to the side, that girl had come to me crying with tears of agony that looked so real. I have to find Emma, and make things right.

"Ace thanks again for your help" I said.

"No problem, just bring Emma home, to a home she deserves" he said softly.

"I promise" I vowed.

And with that I quickly took off to my vehicle and drove out of the parking lot that led towards the woods, which was only a five minute drive, and maybe ten minutes by foot.

-Emma's Pov-

Tears of frustration flowed down my cheeks after I found the hidden meadow I have come to love. The places was filled with all kinds of flowers and was half the size of a football field. I was sitting under a large tree just wishing I could disappear.

Time passed and my tears faded, my stomach began to growl and I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since this morning.

"Emma!" cried a voice

My head snapped up as I quickly recognized that angelic tone. The actress actually found me, how did she know where I was?

"Emma?" she pleaded.

I sighed and finally stood from my hiding spot behind the tree. "I'm here" I said softly.

Our matching green eyes met and for a moment it felt as if time just stopped. I felt like she was trying to tell me something with her eyes. She looked at me unsure of what to do, like she wanted to hug me, but was afraid I would just pull away from her.

"Emma, I was so worried" she said carefully.

I titled my head. "Why?" I asked.

"What do you mean why?" she asked confused.

"Why would you worry about me? I'm just some foster kid that your taking in for a while, I'm sure once you finish up here you'll send me on my way" I explained harshly.

"I wouldn't do that to you Emma!" she said quickly.

I chuckled. "It's what every foster parent does with me eventually. Why should I think that you are any different, just because you promised you wouldn't hit me like the rest of them?" Her eyes looked at me in horror, but I mostly saw sadness. "You claim that you care about me, but when I was wrestling with that girl you instantly thought I started the fight didn't you?" I asked. She was dead silent, uncertain of what to say. I shook my head with a sigh.

"Emma I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed anything, but when I saw you on top of that girl looking like you were ready to punch her I just couldn't believe my eyes, I never imagined that I would see you trying to strike someone" she tried to explained.

"Why? Because I know what it feels like to be kicked around you thought that I was some defenseless little girl who couldn't or wouldn't fight back?" I asked angrily.

"Please Emma, I truly am sorry. Won't you tell me what those girls said?"

I raised an eye brow. "So now you believe me that I didn't start the fight?" I questioned.

She nodded. "I sort of ran into an old friend of yours"

"Old friend?"

"An Ace Wolfe, he's a really sweet boy" she smiled.

My eyes widen, Ace was here in RedWood!? I couldn't believe it; I hadn't seen Ace since we were 10! "Where is he, I have to see him!" I begged.

She pulled out a small piece of paper out of her pocket. "This is his number. He said that he was just recently adopted into a really nice family, he saw you taking off at the mall and told me that you might hide out in the woods for sanctuary" she explained.

I smiled as I stared at the number that I now held; Ace always knew me so well. When we were small I used to have to protect him all the time, he has always been small for age and people often thought he was younger than he really was. Because of his small size he was often pick on by the older kids in the foster care system. He wasn't a fighter, and had always been a sweet boy so I would fight for him if I had to. He always knew how to make me feel better when I was really sad or upset. Although Ace couldn't fight with his fist, he could fight with his words. After knowing him for just a few minutes anyone could see that as long as you were nice to him, he would defend you with all that he could. Ace was the most loyal friend anyone could ever hope to have.

"You really care about him don't you?" the actress asked.

"He was the only one that knew how to comfort me. But because of his short size the other kids would usually pick on him, so I would defend him. I didn't think I would ever see him again" I explained, still not looking away from the phone number.

"I'm glad that you had a friend like him around Emma, he really does seem to care about you to"

I looked up at the actress. "So what did he tell you that made you doubt that girl?" I asked.

She looked down in shame with sad eyes. "He said that you would never start a fight. That you would only fight if you had to, he also said that those girls must have had to say something really nasty in order to get a reaction out of you like that" she explained. I sighed and she finally looked back up at me. "Emma what did they say to you?" she asked carefully.

I shrugged. "The truth I guess, I just don't like hearing it. That witch called me a reject; she thinks I'm a reject because my own parents threw me away" I explained, my voice completely empty.

She gasped and brought her hands over her lips, it looked like she was fighting back tears of agony. Why? I wasn't worth crying over.

I titled my head once again confused. "Nothing to be surprised about, you know I almost envy Ace. He at least got to know what it was like to be loved by his real parents even if it wasn't for long. They were killed in a car accident when he was just six years old. The worst part of it all; was that he had been in the car as well. He was the only survivor" I explained.

"Oh Emma" she sobbed.

"You don't need to be sad for me, I'm not worth it" I said.

"DON'T SAY THAT! Don't you ever say that!" she yelled.

I looked at her completely stunned, never having heard her really yell at me before. This was even more intense then back at the arcade. "Emma you are worth more than you realize" she said. Her voice was dead serious.

"I don't see how?" I said simply.

"Emma if you could just see yourself through my eyes. I see a girl that has been through more than I can even began to imagine, but she still gets up every morning with her head held high. I see a girl that never gives up, I also see a strong and beautiful girl that I know her birth parents would be proud of" she explained proudly.

Tears once again clouded my green eyes; I dropped to my knees and cried. I soon felt familiar warm arms embracing me protectively. I wasn't sure how long I cried, but I remember clinging onto the actress as if she was my only life line.

Time passed but I didn't care, I didn't want to leave this woman's embrace. She is the only adult that has ever said such kind words to me, the only adult that didn't believe I was a reject. She was rubbing my back and I noticed that she started singing a lullaby. It sounded so familiar.

'Dancing bears,

Painted wings,

Things I almost remember,

and a song someone sings,

Once upon a December…."

As she continued to sing something in my mind flashed to a memory I shouldn't be able to remember. I saw little baby me crying and reaching my little arms out to a blurry figure. I could hear her soft soothing voice singing to me as she brought me into the comfort of her embrace. I then see my little-self in another room, it was completely white. I was crying loudly and wanted that woman to comfort me again, but instead a scary man brought me into his arms. I remember screaming and crying at the top of lungs, but nobody came.

-Present time-

My head snapped up and I gasped, breathing heavily. The actress pulled away with a look of concern. "Emma are you all right?" she asked worried.

I placed a hand on my head. "Not sure" I mumbled. I still couldn't quiet grasp what I just saw. Sure I've heard people of remembering things from when they were little, but not memories from when they were still a baby!

"Maybe your tired, please let me take you back to the hotel to rest" she practically begged.

I nodded too exhausted to argue, my energy felt completely drained. It didn't take us long to finally make it back to the hotel. Honestly after what happened at the mall I didn't think I would be seeing this place again, at least not so soon. Once Ginnifer parked the Volvo I stepped out of the vehicle with her following right beside me into the gorgeous hotel. When we walked into the hotel we headed straight for our room. The actress had a comforting arm wrapped around my shoulder for which I was grateful for. When we made it to the room I noticed right away that Josh wasn't there and I was actually glad. I liked Josh and all, but I didn't feel like explaining why I felt so exhausted and complete weak.

"Emma I'm going to let the others know where back, you can go ahead and use the master bed to rest in. Is there anything that I can help you with, or anything that you need?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I'm good thanks" I said.

She nodded and placed a soft gentle kiss on my forehead and then left the room. I headed for the king size bed and once my head hit that pillow I allowed the darkness to consume, and for once no bad dreams. The only thing I could hear in my sleep was the sweet sound of that beautiful lullaby.

-Ginnifer POV-

Words could not express how grateful I was to have Emma back at the hotel with me. I hate not knowing where she is, not knowing if she's safe. I really owed her friend a great deal for helping me find her and make things right between us again. I went over to Lana's room and knocked on her door. When it opened she gave out a relieved sigh.

"Oh Gin thank god!" she said quickly bringing me into a hug.

"Glad to see you could escape to Lana"

"Come inside, Josh along with most of the cast are all hanging out in the pool area right now" she explained. When I walked into Lana's living room I saw Jen, Emilie, and Meghan all sitting on the couch drinking soda. "Gin!" they said in union.

I smiled. "I'm all right guys, I'm sorry to have worried you. I had to put my cell on vibrate so that when I found Emma we wouldn't be interrupted" I explained. Lana and I took our seats in separate chairs across from the couch.

"So you did find her then?" asked Emilie.

I nodded. "I ran into an old friend of hers that explained to me how she loved to hide out in wooded areas if there were any around"

"You wouldn't be talking about Ace would you?" Jen questioned.

"You met him?" I blinked surprised.

"He helped us ditch the crowds" Meghan explained grinning.

"How so?" I asked curiously.

"That kid used one of those stink bombs. Once that sucker went off the whole crowd was running out of their faster than a wild stampede" Meghan laughed.

"The stench was absolutely dreadful" said Emilie.

"He showed us the back way and explained to us that you took off to go find Emma" Lana explained.

"I had to take an hour in the shower because of that dreadful smell" Emilie whined.

"Hey that kid helped us escape because of his quick thinking" Jen reminded her friend.

Emilie sighed. "True and I am grateful for that, but still why did it have to be a stink bomb?"

"Because nobody wants be around such a terrible smell if they can help it, that kid was pure genius" Meghan laughed.

I laughed as well. "I think Emma will get a good laugh when she hears this story"

"How is she?" asked Jen.

I sighed. "She's tired. I feel so guilty. I found out from Ace that Emma would never start a fight willing and that those girls must have said something really harsh in order to get that kind of reaction out of her" I explained sadly.

"Did she say what they said?" asked Lana.

"They called her a reject, and even made fun of her because of the fact that her real parents may have thrown her away" I said.

"That's just dreadful" gasped Emilie.

Jen shook her head. "Kids really can be cruel"

"Man I don't think the annoying cheerleaders back in our day were even that cruel" said Meghan stunned.

"I'm just glad you were able to get her to come back" said Lana.

"How'd you pull that off?" asked Jen curiously.

"With a lot of apologizing" I sighed. "I had to explain to her just how untrue the words that those girls said to her were. She completely broke down and I all I could do was hold her in my arms and let her cry. I didn't know what else to say. It was as if she had never been told the obvious by any adult in her life" I added.

"I'm sure that she appreciated your words and comfort" said Meghan.

Lana nodded. "Unfortunately that girl is probably only used to being told dreadful things. She really is lucky to have found someone like you Gin; Emma needs a place where she feels safe so she can just be a kid that isn't in constant fear"

I shook my head. "I'm the lucky one Lana. Although I'm still not one hundred percent sure that she is my baby, I feel like Emma has finally filled this whole inside me that has been growing with each passing day" I explained. "She makes me feel like I'm truly needed even if she doesn't realize it, like I can finally have that chance at being a mother" I added proudly.

Everyone smiled at me. "That's wonderful Gin, if anybody deserves to be a mother it's you" said Meghan.

Emilie nodded. "I think that once Emma feels up to it, we should let her put on some of her new clothes" she suggested happily.

"Oh I'm sure she'll love to" I said.

"Yea it'll be something fun for her to do, maybe after her nap we can take her out to dinner. Just us girls" said Jen

"Sounds like a plan" grinned Lana.

I slowly stood up. "I'm going to head back to my room. I want to be there when Emma wakes up" I said.

"Give Emma our love" said Emilie kindly.

I smiled and nodded. "Will do, and thank you all for everything" I said truly grateful. We said our goodbyes and I finally made my way back to my room. I found Emma fast asleep and was happy to see that it didn't look any nightmares were haunting her. I placed another gentle kiss on her forehead and went to grab my script. I crawled into bed next to Emma and began memorizing my lines for the first episode of the new season. Today truly had been exhausting, but I think it actually made my bond with Emma that much stronger. From this day on I will always trust Emma's judgment, and I hope that she has finally gained my trust in knowing that I will always be believe in her.

A few hours passed and I felt someone gently shaking me to gain my attention. My eyes opened and I am just now realizing that I must have fallen asleep while reading through my script. I see Emma staring down at me smiling as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

"Emma? How are you feeling?" I asked, now sitting up.

"Like I had the best nap in years, thank you" she said honestly.

I smiled. "Well I'm glad you had a good sleep; you really needed it"

"Looks like you needed it to" she noted.

"I guess I was more tired than I realized. Oh the girls were wondering if you wanted to have dinner with us tonight, you could try on one of your new outfits" I asked.

She was silent for a moment. "Are…are they angry?" she asked scared.

"Oh sweetheart they aren't angry. I explained to them what happened and there just glad that you are all right, they were really worried about you" I quickly explained.

She sighed in relief. "As long as they aren't mad then I don't mind" she replied.

I nodded happily. "Trust me they really want to see you again Emma, they all love you" I said. She looked surprised and seemed to want to say something, but we were interrupted.

There was a knock at the door and Emma and I went together to see who it was. I smiled. "Hello there Jared"

"Hi Mrs. D! Hi Emma! I've been waiting all day for Emma to get back from her shopping trip, but then Lana told me she was taking a nap when she finally got back" he explained.

"Yeah Emma was pretty exhausted after the trip, I even ended up falling asleep myself" I explained.

"Well I was wondering if Emma would come play in the arcade room with me!" he practically begged.

I was going to try and bail Emma out but was surprised to hear her chuckling at the young actor. "Sorry kid I would, but I promised Gin and the girls that I go out to dinner with them" she explained.

"It's only five, that's plenty of time before dinner!" he begged.

"Emma if you want you go and play for about an hour we can just eat at the dinner here in the hotel and the girls and I will meet you downstairs" I suggested.

"See I knew you could come!" he said happily.

"All right, let me change first kid then we can head down there" said Emma.

"Oh Jared you have to see one of Emma's new outfits!" I squealed. I ran to the closet already knowing that the girls would have put our new clothes in there for us.

Jared groaned as I heard Emma laughing. I came back with one of Emma's new outfits as she was ruffling his hair playfully, I couldn't help but smile proudly.

"Here Emma go put this on" I said. I handed her the new black jeans, the long sleeve best bum featuring a relaxed fit, long sleeves, a scoop neck, knit fabric, and a relaxed breast pocket, and flat light purple sneakers. Emma nodded as she took her new outfit and went to change. Not five minutes later she finally came out and Jared and I both gasped in awe. Emma looked so different in clothes that actually fit her. Her old clothes looked so big and baggy on her that you would have never realized the slender form she had. While she was trying on clothes at the mall she explained how she didn't want us seeing what anything looked like on her until after buying the clothes so this was my first time seeing her new clothes on her. She truly was a beautiful young woman. "Oh Emma it looks perfect" I said.

"Yeah Emma you look great" Jared agreed.

Emma blushed at our compliments but smiled. "Thank you" she said shyly.

Jared quickly stood up from the couch and headed for the door. "Well let's go play Emma!" he practically yelled.

Emma laughed. "Alright, alright kid I'm coming"

"Wait Emma take this with you" I handed her a spare card key to the room. "And here's a ten for some quarters, use all of it if you want"

Her eyes widen at then ten. "Are you serious? All of it?" she asked unsure.

I smiled. "Yes go have fun, you deserve it. At least this time you won't have to worry about running into any mean girls" I pointed out.

She grinned happily. "Thanks Gin, really thank you" she said gratefully.

"You're welcome dear"

"Emma!"

"Hold your horses' kid I'm coming, I'm coming" she announced. I laughed as Emma and Jared took off for the arcade. I couldn't feel more proud than I was right now, knowing that I was so lucky to have Emma come into my life. I only hoped that she would one day see me as a mother, a mother that would always love her.

TBC!