Authors Note: Here is part 2. I couldn't help myself and needed to write one with Snow and Emma. Hope you enjoy. Reviews are loved :) Thanks guys and enjoy.
Chapter 8, part 2
She didn't hear any cries but she knew something was wrong. Before she could even second guess her instincts, Snow was out of bed and walking towards her daughter's room. Once she got closer to the room she could hear small cries, it only made her move faster and faster until she opened Emma's door. Emma was still sleeping but tears were streaming down her face, she kept on quietly saying something that Snow couldn't make out. Worried about what was happening to her daughter, Snow found herself sitting on the bed and stroking her daughter's hair. "Em, wake up," she whispered softly trying to wake her daughter gently. Emma's cries only continued and Snow tried again. "Emma, honey, wake up." She shook her a little and the little girl's eyes shot wide opened.
"Mama!" she cried and fell into her mother's awaiting arms saying, "mama," over and over again.
"Shhh, it's ok, mama's here." She rocked her back and forth and let Emma's cries die down. "You're alright now. Nothing is going to happen," she found herself whispering reassuring words into Emma's ear.
"It was so scary," Emma mumbled as Snow brushed away some of the tears.
"I know, baby, but you're fine. It was just a bad dream."
"But it felt so real." Emma's eyes started to water again and Snow took her into a hug.
"I know, sometimes that happens, but then we wake up and we realize that it was only in our sleep." Snow herself knew all too well about nightmares. Not only was she trapped in that glass room while under the sleeping curse which led her to being in that fire room, but when Emma was born she would have nightmares of her baby being taken away from her.
"Mama, I don't want to go back to sleep."
Snow took a minute weighting the options in her mind of what to do and how to handle this situation. "Alright, well, we have a couple of options that you can choose from." Emma leaned back to look into her mother's eyes. "Option number one, we can go and make some hot cocoa and then come back here and I'll watch over you as you sleep. Another option could be that we read a little before going back to sleep. Or our last option is that we can go and make some hot cocoa, and then come back and we can read and I'll watch over you as you sleep."
"But I don't want to go to sleep," Emma said again, not backing down.
"Alright. So we can either read, or go get some hot cocoa to calm us down." Snow was starting to like the idea of the hot cocoa herself.
"Can we stop by your room on the way if we get some cocoa?" Emma asked a little embarrassed.
"Of course we can." Snow was getting the hint of what Emma's nightmare had been about. When she had returned home from her last trip her husband had informed her of Emma's nightmare. Neither of them felt right knowing that their daughter had had a dream where she had watched her father get so hurt that he was dying and that she was being pulled away from her parents. "If you want to we can even wake your Papa up." Snow thought maybe seeing her father awake might ease her fears.
"No, that's alright," Emma responded by taking her 'banky' in her hands and was about to stand up when she felt a sudden need to be as close to her mother as possible.
As if Snow could understand her daughter's thoughts she stood up and readjusted so that Emma was sitting on her hip and her arms holding on around Snow's neck. Suddenly Emma had dropped her baby blanket on the floor and fear took over her again. "Shhh, Em, it's ok, look," Snow leaned down to pick up the fallen blanket and handed it right back to her small daughter. "See? Right where it's supposed to be." Emma smiled a little which led Snow to let out a bigger smile.
The two found themselves standing outside of Snow and Charming's room. The door had been left wide open and Snow let out a small laugh realizing she forgot to close it with her worries about Emma. Charming was sleeping soundly in his spot, snoring and all. Emma let out a small reassuring sigh as she saw her father was all right. Snow could feel her daughter's worries wash away and it made Snow finally breath out that breath she was holding, hoping that this was all Emma would need to fall back asleep. "Can we get the hot cocoa now?" Snow could only laugh at how fast her daughter could change from being completely terrified to being back to her happy little self.
"Why, of course," she simply replied. For a moment Snow debated whether it would be best to set her daughter back down on the ground or to stay in the arms of her mother. The decision was made for her when Emma rested her head in the crook of her mother's neck and hugged her tight. Snow replied with a simple kiss to Emma's head and started walking towards the kitchen. Emma would wave to the night guards as they passed, letting out a smile every once in a while to those she remembered. Once they reached the kitchen, Snow placed Emma down on the counter and started to prepare their favorite drink. By the time the drinks were ready, Snow could tell that Emma was starting to get a little tired. "How about we finish these and then go to bed?" But before Emma could protest Snow continued, "I know it might be a little scary to think that if you close your eyes the same thing will happen, but it won't because I'll be there watching over you." Snow could see that is what her daughter needed to hear. "And I'll tell you what else. You can either choose to sleep with your papa and I, or you and I can sleep in your bedroom."
Emma sat sipping her drink. She was obviously weighing her options, something that Snow found adorable to watch. Sure Emma loved sleeping in her own bed, and it was just the right size to fit her and her mother, but at the same time she loved being able to cuddle up into her mother and feel that her father was also right there with her. She liked being able to wake up in the morning feeling surrounded by her parents but then she also loved to wake up in the morning to a room full of her stuffed animals to talk to about her dreams and what had happened. "Can we sleep in your bed?" she finally decided.
"Yes, we can." Snow hid a small laugh. Never has her daughter chosen her own room over her parents, when given the option. The two finished up their drinks and Emma watched as her mother cleaned up the small mess that they had made. Sooner than she thought, Emma was back in her mother's arms and they were off to bed. They entered the room quietly and Emma let out small giggles here and there at her father's snoring. Snow tucked them both into bed and she kissed the crown of her daughter's head. "I love you, Emma, and I'll always be here to protect you."
"I love you too, Mama." Emma smiled as she cuddled her way into her mother's side. "And I protect you toooo." Emma leaned up to her mother and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. Snow then wrapped her arms around her daughter pulling her in closer to her, rubbing soft circles on Emma's back.
"Now close your eyes and sleep. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to you," Snow whispered into Emma's ear. And with that, Emma closed her little eyes, with her mother's arms around her, and she fell back asleep with a smile.
