Scars

Ana Maria asked for a oneshot of Snow walking in on Emma changing and seeing scars on her back.

It was just an average morning for Snow. Eight am and Neal was fed, changed and settled happily in his Moses basket for a midmorning snooze. Charming and Emma always left at about half seven to head to the station and Henry was with Regina, so she had the house to herself. She decided to take the chance and put away the laundry. She first put her own and Charming's clothes away in their room before heading up to Emma's room to put her pile on her bed. Thinking Emma had left already, Snow didn't knock before opening the door.

"Who there!" Emma called, half way through getting changed. She didn't have time to do much else except turn on the spot so her chest was out of sight. Snow started, not expecting Emma to be there.

"Sorry." She said, looking up when she saw Emma was covered. "I thought you had already…oh my goodness Emma!" Snow said, stopping. Emma mentally kicked herself. In her haste to make sure she was covered she forgot to keep her back from being seen. She'd worked very hard over the last couple of years to make sure nobody saw the scars there. But now her cover was blown.

"It's nothing." She tried, quickly grabbing her dressing gown and slipping it on.

Snow came over and made Emma look at her.

"Emma, those scars were not nothing." She said gently. "Somebody did that to you."

"It was a long time ago mom." Emma told her. "It doesn't matter anymore." Snow couldn't disagree more. It didn't matter how long ago it was. Somebody had scarred her child.

"Please tell me." Snow asked. Emma tried not to look at her. But even when she couldn't see her mother's eyes she could imagine what they'd look like, and it broke Emma's heart.

"I was about ten." Emma began. "It was one of the stricter foster homes. The guy was a bit of an ass. Especially when he'd been drinking. One of the older kids had warned me when I got home from school that he had a hangover so to be extra quiet. I did my best but when I was getting myself a drink of juice I broke a glass. Of course he came thundering through to the kitchen and roared at me what a stupid little bitch I was waking him up and breaking one of his glasses leaving glass everywhere." Snow flinched at the name. She didn't like the idea of someone calling her baby a stupid little bitch. She already wanted to hunt the man down and punch him, and the story wasn't even finished yet. "I was just lucky I still had my shoes on really. He grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and pulled me into the living room where he yelled at me some more. I started to cry and that just seemed to make him madder. He said if I was going to cry he'd give me something to really cry about and he took his belt off, yanked my top off and, well, you can fill the rest in for yourself." Emma finished nervously. Snow was stunned into silence. The very idea that someone could do that to her child at all, let alone for an accident. If it wasn't for Emma being right there Snow would have broken down and cried. She put her daughter through the wardrobe to protect her, and it seemed sometimes that it was all for nothing. She pulled Emma into her arms.

"I'm so sorry." Snow said sadly. "I should have been there. It's my job to protect you…and I let you get hurt time and time again."

"Don't blame yourself." Emma said seriously. "Mom, this was not your fault. I get it, if you didn't put me through the wardrobe Regina would have killed me. Yeah, the foster system sucked but at least I was alive. At least I got what I wanted in the end."

"To claw that man's eyes out? Because I'll tell you something that's exactly what I want to do just now." Snow growled. Anyone that laid their hands on her children was a mortal enemy as far as Snow was concerned. Emma just smiled at her.

"No, my parents. Sure it's a bit of a unique situation but I get my parents and they want me. Not a lot of kids who come out of the system can say that." Emma told her. Snow felt only warmth from her daughter's confession.

"And don't you ever forget it." She told her. "Like it or lump it you're stuck with your father and I until the day we die. We're never letting you go again. Ever." Emma let out a small chuckle.

"Ok, I won't forget. Can I finish getting dressed now? Dad will be wondering where I am."

"Sure honey. Neal will be waking up soon anyway. Have a good day." She said, giving Emma a final hug. Snow made a mental note to contact Sidney later. She was sure if anyone could find out who Emma's old foster parents were it was him.