SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST! ALSO, I'M SURE YOU FANATICS KNOW THIS, BUT ORIGINALLY EMMA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE NAMED ANNA.

DON'T OWN IT.

Snow walked into the castle and jumped when James came up beside her.

"I'm glad you're alive." It was blunt, but in his mind, he had every right to be angry.

"You're mad." She frowned.

"Of course I am! This is exactly like that time you told Rumplestiltskin Emma's name." He said, trying not to raise his voice; he didn't want to upset her, especially not after the miscarriage.

"I already apologized for that." She whined, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"You're missing the point." He said impatiently.

"I'm not your daughter." Snow huffed. "So stop talking to me like I am."

"Excuse me for caring about your safety!"

"I can take care of myself!" She pushed past him to hang her coat up.

"You're starting to sound a lot like Emma. You know what, maybe you did raise her!" He yelled, and instantly regretted his words once he saw the pain on his wife's face. In two quick strides, she was in front of him, and slapped him. They stood there, stunned, surprised at her actions.

"Hey guys?" Emma asked from the bottom of the stairs. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Sweetie." Snow replied with a shaky voice.

"Doesn't sound like it."

"Emma, we're fine." James said, his eyes pleading. "Just go back to bed."

"We weren't really sleeping." She said sheepishly. "And I mean… I heard yelling, so…" At the sight of their daughter, Snow and James momentarily forgot about how mad they were at each other.

"We were just talking." James smiled.

"You know I'm not Henry, right? You don't have to treat me like I don't completely understand how adult interactions work. But…" She looked down, unable to meet their gaze. "Do you think you could tell me a story?"

"Of course!" Snow's eyes lit up, and she signaled for them to move to the couch. Emma sat between them. "About what?"

"Maybe about how you named me? I don't know my middle name, either." Her golden locks tickled her parents' necks, but they didn't care.

"Well, your middle name is Hope." James said, and only then realized just how fitting it is.

"And your dad and I thought you were going to be a boy, but we obviously didn't know for sure. Charming wanted to name you Andrew, and if you were a girl Anna." Snow interjected.

"But we were certain you were a boy."

"And then I kept getting cravings for hot chocolate with cinnamon, so I thought for sure you were going to love that. You do, too. The more I thought about it, and I was probably six months along at the time, I just suddenly felt you were a girl. I hated the name Anna."

"So then she made me go to Rumplestiltskin with her to ask about the Queen's curse. He agreed, but in exchange for your name. Needless to say, that was when I found out Snow had picked a name for you. I was quite surprised."

"We talked about it afterward, Charming. Don't make it sound like I made the final decision." Snow gave him a pointed look.

"I was like, 'what about Anna?' She said that it didn't 'fit who you were surely going to be'. I loved it, though, the moment it came out of her mouth. I chose Hope." James finished. The whole time, Emma held onto their every word like it was sacred.

"Emma Hope Swan." The blonde whispered.

"How'd you end up with Swan?" Snow asked.

"It's the last name of my first foster parents." She answered.

"The ones who had you until you were three."

"How'd you know?" Emma looked at her quizzically.

"Henry told me." The brunette smirked. It was times like these when James felt unconnected to his daughter. He knew that she and his wife had lived together for seven months, but he still wanted to have the close relationship they had.

"That little brat." She shook her head, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Bring it in." James opened his arms wide, and his girls leaned into his embrace, Emma squashed between them.

"I can't breathe." She gasped.

"Sorry!" Snow instantly leaned back.

"I'm not mad at your mom, Emma." James said.

"That's good. Cause if you do anything else to hurt her, I'm gonna be really mad at you." She said, giving him a pointed look. Sometimes she couldn't let go of what David Nolan had done to the brunette, and sometimes she forgot that Snow was very different than Mary Margaret.

"I know." James chuckled, pulling her in for another hug. He relished in the fact that both times she had not pulled away. "I love you, Emma."

"I know." She smiled.

"Charming?" Snow whispered.

"Yes, Honey?" He said in a low voice through Emma's tangled curls.

"I'm not mad, either. I'm sorry for slapping you. That was uncalled for and immature."

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it." Then he realized the blonde's breathing had evened out, and he placed a finger to his lips to keep Snow quiet. He shifted Emma a little bit and picked her up, and they made their way to her and Graham's room. He was facing the window on his side, snoring. Gently, James placed her in the bed and tucked her in. He placed a tender kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, Emma." He whispered. He went back in the hall and kissed Snow, who had tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It just reminds me of how we last saw her when we put her in the wardrobe." She said, blinking them back. "I love her so much."

As soon as the door closed, Emma smiled. She'd never been carried to bed before. Yes, she had feigned sleep, but her father's reaction was completely genuine.