A SPECIAL THANKS GOES OUT TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! IF ANYONE'S WONDERING ABOUT "CASTLES", I WAS ABLE TO GET IT TO WORK. ALSO, THIS CHAPTER TAKES PLACE IN EARLY OCTOBER. I'M FIGURING FTL GETS SNOW THEN. EMMA'S BIRTHDAY WILL BE COMING UP!
DON'T OWN IT.
As Henry attempted to race out the door, Emma grabbed his arm.
"You need snow pants and two layers of gloves, and a hat."
"Mom!" He whined. The blonde gave him a stern look and he obeyed, running up to his room.
"Wow." Snow said. "You're good at the whole 'mom' thing."
"Thanks." Henry came back down, breathless.
"Now can we go out?"
"Why don't you start building the forts while we get our gear on?" James suggested.
"Okay." He ran outside. They all went up to their rooms to get bundled up met at the door.
"Let's go." The king said. While it was cold enough for snow, it wasn't so cold they'd immediately freeze and be forced to return to the warm sanctuary of the castle. In just that short amount of time, Henry had been able to set up two pretty impressive walls.
"So, how are we doing this, Kid?"
"We can just try to hit each other. It doesn't have to be that competitive." Henry answered.
"Sounds like a plan. And just so everyone knows, I put Boston in his crate."
"Good idea." Snow said. "Alright, let's get into our teams." Graham and James backed over to one side behind their wall, and the rest behind theirs.
"Go!" Henry yelled. While everyone else tried to formulate a plan, Emma quickly made a snowball and chucked it at Graham. It hit him right on the head.
"Ow! No headshots."
"No, headshots are okay." Henry ducked as James threw one at him.
"Charming!" Snow said in a sing-song voice. None too gingerly she flung a snowball at him. It collided with his chest. She giggled.
"You're going to pay for that." He tossed one at her. It made contact with her shoulder. Emma sidestepped one that Graham threw. He and James looked at each other, then sent half a dozen barreling at her. The blonde got knocked over, landing with a 'oof'.
"Oh my God, Emma, are you okay?" Snow and James asked.
"Yup."
"Sorry! We didn't know that would happen." Graham's voice was nothing but concerned.
"Really, it's okay." She said. Snow extended her hand to help her up, which the blonde gladly accepted. Henry made a valiant attempt to hit Graham for knocking his mother over, but it few by his head.
"Storybrooke didn't have sports teams." He explained, laughing at his lack of athletic skill.
"Then it's a good thing you have me." Emma smiled, chucking a snowball at James. The packed snow flew around for a few more minutes, most of the time hitting their intended targets. After getting slightly annoyed at the constant cold hitting his face, Graham ran over to Emma and picked her up bridal style. "Graham!" She shrieked, uselessly flailing. He walked to a nearby snow-bank and threw her in. She landed deep inside it. "What the Hell!?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, other than the fact that I can't get out!" She said with an air of irritation.
"In that case, this is hilarious." He chuckled, knowing the blonde is perfectly fine. James took the moment of distraction to do the same to his wife. He cradled her in his arms and placed a soft kiss to his lips.
"Charming, don't you dare…" The brunette warned. Henry laughed from his vantage point behind a wall of snow. James ignored her and tossed her next to Emma.
"Get me out!" They yelled at the same time.
"Alright." Graham chuckled and hauled Emma out, then brushed her off. James did the same.
"Let's go in and have some cocoa." Snow suggested. She was met with nods of agreement.
"So my team won." Henry concluded.
"Yes." Emma said, draping an arm around him. "We did."
"I'll make lunch while I'm at it."
"And I'll take Boston out."
"He's growing on you." James observed, smiling as they walked into the living room.
"Henry, bang out your boots." Emma said, then added. "Well, the little guy is adorable, even if he eats all my stuff."
"Charming and I couldn't decide between him and a Great Dane, but Boston seemed cuter." Snow said.
"We should probably get him a bandana or something so I don't lose him in the snow."
"I'll come with you." Graham put his arm around her shoulder. "Between the two of us, I think we can keep an eye on him."
"You can grab the leash while I get him out." The blonde headed over to the crate and picked him up. "I'm sorry." She said to the dog, her voice a little higher than normal. "But until you stop eating everything in sight, I'll have to put you in there."
"Or we could just baby proof the castle." Snow suggested. At Graham and Emma's confused looks, she elaborated. "You know, you keep everything roughly 2 feet above the ground and nothing edible in plain sight for him to reach."
"Boots and jeans are not edible." Emma said. Boston tried to get out of her grip and she ended up straddling him.
"Emma, be careful!" Graham exclaimed, rushing over. "He's ten pounds, that's not necessary." They finally managed to hook the leash to the collar. "Is that how you intend to change our baby's diapers?"
"Obviously somebody's going to show me how."
"You really don't know how to change a diaper?" He asked incredulously.
"There's a reason I gave Henry up." She said simply. They all knew that wasn't the whole truth, but it got a chuckle out of them, so they let it go.
"Speaking of which…" The boy said a little unsurely. "Um, Regina wants me to go over her and Daniel's tonight for dinner. Is that okay?" Emma looked at Graham.
"Do you want to?" He questioned, bending down to his level.
"I guess." Henry shrugged. "I mean, I think I care about her. I love you and Mom… you're my parents, but she loves me, too. I don't think she'll try to kidnap me since she knows she'll see me once a week."
"Well, if Graham's okay with it, you can." Emma said.
"Sure." The sheriff nodded.
"Thanks!" Henry wrapped his arms around each of them.
"Is soup okay with everyone?" Snow asked a she passed a mug of cocoa to each of them.
"Sounds great." Emma smiled. "What are you making?"
"Chicken noodle."
"Could you… maybe leave the carrots out?" The blonde asked sheepishly.
"Of course!" She beamed. She was glad to do something maternal that wasn't giving advice or hugging, which she had already done as Mary Margaret.
"Wait a second." James followed her into the kitchen. "Is that why you didn't put onions into the meatloaf you made last week?"
"You noticed?" The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Our daughter is rather finicky."
"I am not!" Emma insisted. "Come on, Boston." She tugged the leash gently towards the door. The fur ball simply looked up at her. "Why do you have to be so adorable?" She groaned and pulled a little more firmly.
"Be gentle." Graham slipped his hand over hers. "Let's go." He cooed, and the dog immediately obeyed. "See?" Once they got outside, she handed him the leash completely and collapsed onto a snow bank. This one, however, was firmer and she didn't fall through it.
"I can't do this."
"Do what?"
"Raise a kid. Be a mother." She replied with a sigh.
"Emma…" He sat down next to her, also blowing out a breath of his own. He knew how important it was to be supportive and patient with her, but having this conversation multiple times a week was getting tiring. Still, he'd do it as many times as he had to for her. Boston was content to just walk around in front of the snow bank, occasionally stopping to sniff or dig. "I think Henry would disagree." He didn't know what to say. He wanted to prove to her that she was more than capable of being a fantastic mother –and that she was. Sometimes, he forgot how insecure she actually was.
"Regina did all of the hard work. He was already an amazing kid when I met him."
"Maybe." He said slowly. "But you made him even better. He chose you over her. You didn't screw him up."
"I guess I can't disagree with that." She laughed a little.
"Are you worried about a possible inability to care for an infant and toddler?"
"Yes."
"I'm not." He said firmly, and she turned her head sharply at him in surprise.
"What?"
"I'm not worried about it. You may not be the gentlest person in the world, but you know what? You're equal parts tough and compassionate and as soon as you're holding our baby in your arms that compassion's going to shine through."
"I'm sorry I keep flip-flopping about this. Believe me, I really want to have a baby I'm just so scared." She said, blinking back tears. Her husband –and God that still sounded so surreal to say– always knew the exact words to calm her down.
"Don't you see it, Emma? That fear means you already care about this child, even though we haven't conceived it yet. I know you doubt your maternal abilities, but I have complete faith in you."
"How are you not terrified?" She asked, her voice shaky.
"Because I've been ready for this since the moment I kissed you and I think I'll be a pretty good dad, according to Henry."
"He's told you that?" A tear ran down her cheek, and Graham brushed it away with his thumb.
"Yes. He came to me the other day for advice."
"Really?"
"He has a crush."
"On who?" Another tear fell. Her son was growing up much too fast for her liking.
"I can't tell, it's a secret."
"Well, what did you tell him to do?" Emma asked.
"I advised him to ask her out. Sometimes, taking a chance pays off so much." He kissed her tenderly.
"I guess all there's left to do is make the baby." She grinned.
THANKS FOR READING! AS ALWAYS, FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED IF YOU HAVE TIME.