I'M SOSORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE. I'VE BEEN SWAMPED WITH HOMEWORK AND CHEER PRACTICE AND PARTIES. I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR STICKING THROUGH THIS STORY!

DON'T OWN IT.

James and Emma walked back inside and were met with questioning stares. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"This is getting old." She said. "What's for dinner? I'm starving."

"What do you want? I wasn't going to make anything extravagant since Henry's not here." Snow chuckled.

"Pasta?" Emma suggested.

"That sounds good." Snow nodded.

"I'll make it! I should brush up on my cooking skills, anyway, and even Emma can do it." James said, grinning. When no one protested, he made his way to the kitchen. He began searching through cabinets for the boxes of pasta.

"Oh, Charming, wait!"

"Mhm?" His voice was barely audible through the racket he was making.

"She likes ziti and bow-ties. If you give her anything else she won't eat it." Snow said. Emma blushed.

"You're adorable." Graham whispered. She stomped on his foot lightly. "Ow."

"I'm not that bad." The blonde insisted, throwing a pointed look to her mother. "I'm gonna go… sweatpants sound like a really good idea. And you guys figure out something to entertain me with. I'm bored without TV." She went up to her room. A goofy grin appeared on Graham's face, and his eyes trailed after her.

"Not that kind of entertainment." Snow said, her voice dangerous. "I think we have twister around here somewhere." A sudden thought hit Graham.

"Hey, Emma!" His eyes lingered on her half-drank wine glass. "I just realized, you can't drink!" She stumbled out of their room to the top of the stairs, pulling a blue t-shirt over her head. She mumbled some profanity, followed by some louder ones.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Tears of frustration welled in her eyes. She turned back around and speed-walked into their room again. Graham sighed. Snow walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Give her a few minutes to calm down, okay?" Her voice was soft and comforting. Graham nodded.

"Anything I can do to help in the meantime?"

"Well," She handed him the bowl she was holding, "just set the table, I guess. I'd tell you to see her, but this is about something you can't understand." He gave her a small smile before doing as told. Taking a deep breath, Snow hesitantly started climbing up the stairs, then knocked on the door.

"Every time I get upset, someone doesn't need to follow me." Emma mumbled.

"You're right." Snow said, her voice tranquil and measured. "But you need to hear this." She took a seat next to her daughter. "You're a great mother. I know you don't feel that way, but I would never lie to you. Sure, you forgot not to drink while trying to have a baby, but everyone makes mistakes."

"It wasn't just a mistake. If I was actually pregnant, I probably would've killed it. It's not even just that, it's everything. I hate that sometimes, all it takes to make me cry is my son telling me he loves me, or a little gesture that you or Dad does. It's frustrating as Hell! And then I wonder if Henry's okay, and I hate that I have to share him with Regina again. I miss Mary Margaret. The worst of it is that I feel like an addict in a psych ward! Sometimes I want to just run and leave for a day or two to clear my head, but then I know you guys won't be happy about it and I just feel trapped. I know that's not how it is, but… there's some things about this life that are amazing, like having my family, but at the same time, those very things seem to suffocate me at times." Emma looked over at Snow with pleading eyes. "Please don't take that the wrong way. I'm so thankful to have you and Dad and Henry and Graham in my life, but I need you guys to trust that I'm not gonna run. I know you're terrified of losing me, but I don't need to be protected. Even if I do leave for a couple days, I will always come back."

"I do trust you, Emma." Snow said after a moment of thought. "But I don't want you to revert. You're right, running is like an addiction to you." Emma collapsed onto her, sobs clawing their way up her throat.

"W-why does this have to be so hard?"

"I wish I could tell you." She rubbed her daughter's back. "Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe seeing Jiminy would be a good idea?"

"If anyone else had said that I would've taken offense, but you get it. You understand me."

"Great." Snow smiled. "He still runs a little office on the other side of the river. I'm sure his hours will be cut down because of the baby, but he'll be glad to see you."

"Henry's sleeping over Regina's, so I guess tomorrow morning could work." Emma pushed herself off the bed and ran a hand over her face, then blew her nose. "I really hate crying."

"I know." Snow chuckled. "Shall we make sure your father hasn't set a fire?"

"Yeah." Surprisingly, when they entered the kitchen, a mouth-watering smell hit them. "Wow."

"I know, right!" James beamed. "I didn't know I could do this! It'll be ready in a couple minutes." Snow stood next to his to supervise.

"Where's Graham?" Emma asked.

"I guess he noticed the wedding presents were never opened. He can be quite childish at times." He answered. With a smile, the blonde proceeded to find him. As expected, he was in the study, surrounded by a ring of wrapping paper.

"Hey." She said.

"Wanna know what they all got us?" He looked up.

"What?"

"All baby stuff." He motioned to the pile in front of him. "When we have this kid, he or she's going to be spoiled."

"I can't wait." She whispered, looking up at him, her eyes only holding honesty.

"Emma!" James yelled, his voice light and excited. "Your mother says I make the best pasta, so you should come try it!" The blonde chuckled.

"Be right there!"

THIS ONE WAS SHORT AND SWEET, I KNOW. I JUST WANTED TO GET IT UP. THE NEXT ONE WILL BE MORE EXCITING, I PROMISE. REVIEWS WOULD BE WONDERFUL XP